Tornado record · Original Fujita scale
F3 tornado, Fairfax County, Virginia, September 5, 1979
RatingF3
Deaths1
Injuries6
Length17.9 mi
Width300 yd
Path
Drawn as a straight line from the recorded start point (38.78, -77.08) to the end point (39.00, -77.27), which is all NOAA's record holds. The real track may have curved.
The record
- Date
- September 5, 1979, 5:00 PM (as recorded, Central Standard Time)
- Rating
- F3
- States
- Virginia
- Counties
- Fairfax County
- Path
- 17.9 miles long, up to 300 yards wide
- Casualties
- 1 deaths, 6 injuries
Other tornadoes on September 5, 1979
| Date | Rating | State | Path length | Width | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 1979 | F3 | Virginia | 2.5 mi | 50 yd | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Maryland | 0.5 mi | 20 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Virginia | 0.5 mi | 30 yd | 0 | 9 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Virginia | 2 mi | 40 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Virginia | 0.5 mi | 50 yd | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Virginia | 0.5 mi | 30 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Delaware | 2.5 mi | 200 yd | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Pennsylvania | 4.1 mi | 63 yd | 1 | 4 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | Pennsylvania | 1 mi | 30 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F1 | Maryland | 0.5 mi | 17 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F1 | Maryland | 2.5 mi | 50 yd | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F1 | Virginia | 0.5 mi | 20 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F1 | Virginia | 2 mi | 30 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F1 | Maryland | 17.8 mi | 50 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F1 | Maryland | 0.5 mi | 30 yd | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F1 | Iowa | 0.3 mi | 30 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F0 | Maryland | 0.3 mi | 10 yd | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F0 | Maryland | 0.2 mi | 17 yd | 0 | 0 |
Tornado history nearby
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.