BREAKING: National Weather Service confirms tornado touched down in Tysons

(updated at 4:20 p.m.) The National Weather Service determined a tornado touched down in Tysons last night (Thursday).

NWS confirmed what some suspected after onlookers posted videos to social media showing what looked like a funnel.

The tornado, which was the lowest category with winds between 65 to 85 mph, caused damage to two gas stations along Chain Bridge Road. NWS reported the winds lifted upward under the canopy of the Sunoco and caused a corner of it to collapse on the station’s building.

Rating: EF-0
Estimated Peak Wind: 85 mph
Path Length: 200 yards
Path Width /maximum/: 50 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0

At the Mobil not too far away, the garage door “was blown 10 to 15 feet away from the building.”

The Capital Weather Gang had reported there may have also been a brief tornado touchdown near Centreville based on preliminary information. But National Weather Service meteorologist Ray Martin told FFXnow this afternoon (Friday) that the agency hadn’t heard of much damage in that area to indicate a tornado or prompt a survey.

Read the full report below:

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
305 PM EDT Fri Apr 1 2022

…NWS Damage Survey for 03/31/22 Tornado in Tysons Corner VA…

Rating: EF-0
Estimated Peak Wind: 85 mph
Path Length: 200 yards
Path Width /maximum/: 50 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0

Start Date: March 31, 2022
Start Time: 8:41 PM EDT
Start Location: Tysons Corner VA
Start Lat/Lon: 38.9196/-77.2259

End Date: March 31, 2022
End Time: 8:42 PM EDT
End Location: Tysons Corner VA
End Lat/Lon: 38.9195/-77.2234

Narrative:

A tornado touched down in Tysons Corner, Virginia, along Chain Bridge Road just northwest of the Tysons Corner Mall. Two service stations were impacted/damaged by the tornado. The first one, a Sunoco gas station situated at the corner of Chain Bridge Road and International Drive, had a partial canopy collapse. Winds lifted upwards under the canopy and caused the northwest corner of the canopy to collapse on the service station building.

A group of bushes separating the two service stations experienced significant vegetation loss on the southeast facing side. The Mobil gas station separated approximately 120 feet from the Sunoco gas station experienced a number of impacts to the building and surrounding objects. A garage door facing northwest was blown 10 to 15 feet away from the building. Metal paneling at the top of the roof along the northwest and southeast facing sides of the building were damaged and tossed away from the building. A small canopy hanging over the entrance of the service station was mangled beyond repair. A video posted on social media displayed a number of loose items, including packs of water and other small items tossed around in a rotating fashion in the front of the building. Flying debris also caused at least 6-8 windows in the front of the Mobil station to shatter.

Eyewitness accounts along with a social media report show the tornado as it just passed the Mobil gas station and was approximately 100 yards away with clear rotation in the video as it approached just northwest of Tysons Corner Mall just off of Tysons One Place. Based off of lack of damage displayed further southeast, the tornado likely dissipated in the Tyson’s Corner Mall parking lot.

Finally, weather radars from NOAA/NWS KLWX WSR-88D in Sterling, VA, and FAA Terminal Doppler Weather Radars for Dulles International Airport, Reagan National Airport, and Joint Base Andrews, all had corroborating velocity data supporting the tornadogenesis.

EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0………65 to 85 mph
EF1………86 to 110 mph
EF2………111 to 135 mph
EF3………136 to 165 mph
EF4………166 to 200 mph
EF5………>200 mph