NWS Confirms F1 Tornado in Manassas

The National Weather Service has upgraded the weather system that caused damage to a warehouse structure in Manassas as an F1 tornado.

The storm that struck the region in the late hours of Wednesday, April 27, also caused damage in the Brentsville, Linton Hall and Vint Hill Road areas of Prince William County. 

A warehouse structure on Wakeman Ct. in Manassas was also damaged by the tornado. 

Officials from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management responded to incident sites in the city and county and shared damage reports with the NWS. 

No injuries or deaths were reported, but The NWS  issued a Tornado Warning to include the Bull Run area of Prince William County and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park last Wednesday as the storm system headed toward the area.

The warning prompted officials to urge residents in the Manassas community to immediately take cover by moving to an interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building and avoid windows.

The warning also carried with it the urgency for those outdoors, in a mobile home or vehicle to take cover from potential flying debris in a stable structure.

The system came across the area late Wednesday night and officials urged tornadoes were hard to detect in the dark.

Laura Southard with the VDEM said there were a lot of storms across Virginia that day. In fact, the outbreak of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, large hail, and periods of heavy rainfall resulted in Governor Bob McDonnell declaring a state of emergency on Thursday—the day after the storms as officials assessed the hard-hit areas for potential tornado damage.