SPC Stats
Path length: 1 mile
Width: 100 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 5
Rating: F1
County: Carroll
When looking through all of the tornadoes that have occurred on August 1 on record (1950-2016), this tornado stuck out because it had the most injuries listed of them all. The only information I could gather for this event was from the Storm Data Entry. I found no newspaper articles on this and Thomas Grazulis does not include this in his book Significant Tornadoes.
It was a quick-hitting (1 mile path) tornado confirmed in Carroll County, VA on August 1, 1965. It hit about 2 miles east of Groundhog Mountain upsetting a trailer home. The home toppled down a bank and the 5 people inside were injured. 200+ trees were damaged and crops were flattened.
The county recorded in the SPC Database is Carroll. Groundhog Mountain is near the border of Patrick and Caroll Counties. VA Home Locator lists the county as Patrick. The damage was about 2 miles east of Groundhog Mountain which may or may not have been in Caroll County. It was close. Also, as you can see the SPC coordinates are off. They are too far south. The damage was east of Groundhog Mountain. By the way, the elevation of Groundhog Mountain is 3,031 feet – tornadoes can occur in the mountains!
Storm Data Entry
Moving northeasterly, the storm left a path of near total destruction in eastern part of county about 2 miles east of Ground Hog Mountain. It upset a trailer home and toppled it down a bank with 5 persons inside. The trailer and contents were demolished. Over 200 trees were damaged, either uprooted or broken left lying in all directions. Crops were flattened, power and telephone lines downed. A barn filled with hay an another outbuilding were demolished and scattered over several acres. A number of other farm outbuildings were damaged. An automobile was lifted and moved 10 feet without overturning or damage.
Tornado Path
Click Map To Enlarge
SPC coordinates (only one point provided): Start: 36.63 / -80.52
Damage was found east of Ground Hog Mountain so this point is not accurate. It is too far south.
Note: Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.
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