The ominous warning flashed on the TV screen in the studio Tuesday afternoon: Tornado watch in several Virginia cities, towns and counties — including Floyd.
Tornadoes? Floyd? Yep. The National Weather Service cancelled the warning in less than an our but storms and strong winds moved into the area, leaving homes in Floyd County and other areas without power.
Thought tornados were a thing of the past when we left the Midwest for Washington in 1981 but several twisters came through the National Capital Region, including an F5 that touched down in LaPlata, Maryland in 2002.
Tornado watches and warnings were commonplace in Illnois and Missouri during our 11 years there but didn’t expect them to cause concern here in the mountains. According to City-Data.Com:
Floyd County historical area-adjusted tornado activity is significantly below Virginia state average. It is 5.8 times below overall U.S. average.
Which is a statistical way of saying tornadoes are rare in these parts but they can still happen.