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Historic tornado outbreak brings death, destruction to Richmond

There was at least one confirmed death and one injury during the tornado outbreak when a tornado destroyed a business at Hull Street Road and Speeks Drive in Chesterfield County.

A line of strong thunderstorms began tracking from the southwest toward Central Virginia, moving to the northeast Monday afternoon. Weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan said the remnants from Florence “are interacting with a warm, humid airmass in place over the mid-Atlantic states.”


“Wind shear – the change in wind speed and/or direction with height – is high across the region, leading to the development of multiple tornadoes Monday afternoon,” he added.

A furniture store on Hull Street was also heavily damaged. Cars were flipped outside the Planet Fitness gym on Hull Street. Tornadoes also caused damage in the Hampton Park area of Chesterfield County and prompted schools to keep students after normal school hours. In some cases, school buses taking students home were diverted to nearby schools for student safety.

FEMA will be happy to know that the Emergency Broadcast System works very well, especially for localized emergencies. This journalist got her first of what turned out to be five different emergency texts on my cell phone, starting at 4:15 p.m. this afternoon – warning me to take cover because a tornado had been spotted on the ground.


The warnings actually started at about 10 a.m. Monday for areas southwest of Richmond and continued through the afternoon.

What’s left of Florence will travel north, toward Washington D.C. and out of the area Tuesday taking any significant weather with it. As it is, the Richmond metropolitan area is still under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. tonight.

I can tell readers that for sure, the danger is not over yet. But I now know what so many people who live in areas subject to tornadoes go through – and the experience today has given me a great deal of respect for nature and an understanding and compassion for what people have gone through with Hurricane Florence.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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