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A funnel cloud from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan appears over eastern Stafford County near Leeland Road and Clift Farm Road yesterday afternoon. Trees were downed and houses were damaged nearby on Potomac Run Road.
Several homes in The Meadows subdivision in Remington, including this one on Justin Court, were severely damaged
Michael Williams and his mother, Isabell Washington, stand at the doorway |
Michael and Shannon Williams had an eerie feeling when heavy rain and wind were replaced by sudden calm yesterday afternoon.
Then they saw the tornado forming behind their Stafford County home.
"It was black, and all of the sudden you could see the clouds start to stir," Shannon Williams said last night.
Her husband wanted to stay, but Williams begged him to get into the car with her and flee.
Ten minutes later, after watching the storm pass over Interstate 95 from a nearby gas station, the couple returned to find the back of their home on Courthouse Road severely damaged by a huge oak tree that had smashed through their 8-year-old daughter's bedroom.
"We're lucky we're OK," Williams said. "Neither of us had ever seen anything like it."
Yesterday was disaster dejà vu for the Fredericksburg area, as Hurricane Ivan tried to match last week's visit by Frances twister for twister.
Tornadoes spawned by the remnants of the Gulf storm swirled through the Fredericksburg area, pounding Stafford, Fauquier, Caroline, Culpeper, Orange and Prince William counties.
The twisters left behind property damage and debris, but there were no reports of significant injuries. Authorities were still assessing the impact last night, but the most serious damage appeared to be in Fauquier's Remington area, where a twister wrecked five homes and badly damaged more than a dozen others.
Tornado watches remained in effect for much of the area into the night, and today's forecast calls for more rain and possible flash flooding.
Like its predecessor Frances, Ivan scattered its fury across the region indiscriminately.
In Stafford, a tornado traveling north swirled across I-95 near Stafford Regional Airport about 4 p.m. yesterday, plucking up 30 to 40 trees and tossing them across the highway.
Sheriff's deputies and state troopers formed a rolling roadblock across the northbound lanes to keep motorists from driving into the twister.
"Not that we needed to," Sheriff Charles Jett said. "Most everyone had stopped at that point. They saw it and knew what it was."
Highway workers were still clearing the trees last night, stalling traffic on the interstate for miles.
Stafford Emergency Services Director Chuck Thompson said that same twister touched down in the Leeland Station area, ripping the shingles from two houses on Grays Road and tossing trees across streets.
In Caroline, officials say another storm ripped through Stonewall Jackson Road near Thornburg, damaging a mobile home and downing trees and limbs.
Caroline officials set up an emergency response center last night and asked that anyone who experienced tornado damage call 804/633-4357.
In Orange, a tornado touched down at U.S. 522 and State Route 719, toppling a silo and reportedly lifting an empty mobile home from the ground.
In Culpeper, Sheriff Lee Hart said the roof was blown off one home and a barn was seriously damaged by an unconfirmed tornado in the Mitchells area shortly after 7 p.m.
The tornado warnings started going up about 3 p.m. yesterday, just as the area's elementary school students were heading home for the day.
In Spotsylvania, officials held about 10,000 students until the warnings passed.
The children described being instructed to "be frogs or turtles" and assume defensive positions against the the school walls. Some classes sang songs to pass the time and keep fear at bay as they huddled.
Once the coast was deemed clear, they were released for their delayed trip home.
"We want to make sure they all get home safely," schools spokeswoman Sara Branner said.
Culpeper elementary schools had already been dismissed, but officials turned around buses headed for Lignum, where a tornado warning had just gone up. Students went back to their classrooms and stayed sheltered until the warning was lifted.
All of Stafford's elementary students made it home before the funnel clouds appeared. Schools spokeswoman Valerie Cottongim said she received a report about 5:15 p.m. that all buses had finished their routes.
"Everyone made it home OK," she said.
Stafford deputies chased the tornadoes across the county, warning residents and assessing damage.
Michael and Shannon Williams' house just west of I-95 on Courthouse Road appeared to have taken the brunt of Ivan's pass through the county.
"The whole back of the house got demolished," Shannon Williams said. "The master bedroom ceiling is starting to cave in."
The couple will be staying with Williams' parents until they can get their home repaired--if it can be repaired.
"You know, I understand why Michael wanted to stay when we saw the tornado," Williams said. "It's mesmerizing to watch. But my gut told me to go, and I'm glad we did."
Staff Writer Kelly Hannon contributed to this report.
To reach KARI PUGH: 540/374-5413 kpugh@freelancestar.com
