In the Dry Fork tornado, wind speeds reached 118 miles per hour

A tornado that damaged about 20 homes in Dry Fork Friday afternoon had winds estimated at about 118 miles per hour, the National Weather Service in Blacksburg said Saturday.

This makes it an EF2 tornado, the third strongest level in a system that ranges from zero to five. The rating system, known as the Enhanced Fujita Scale, is based on wind speed and damage.

“The tornado had a maximum width of 225 yards and was on the ground for 6.85 miles.” Phil Hysell, a senior meteorologist in the Blacksburg office, told the Register & Bee Saturday afternoon.

In a somewhat unusual move, the weather service classified the damage as tornadic damage Friday evening based on drone photos. Two meteorologists spent most of the day on Saturday surveying the area to gather more details to determine wind speeds, etc.

Residents begin cleanup after Friday's tornado in Dry Fork.

The weather service estimated that about 30 structures — including outbuildings and the like — were damaged by Friday's tornado, which raged on the ground for about 18 minutes.

It fell from the sky about 3 miles (5 kilometers) southwest of Dry Fork at 2:38 p.m., the weather service reported. It remained on the ground until 2:56 p.m. and then dissipated about 6 miles west of Chatham.

“Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped and uprooted,” the Blacksburg report said.

One person was injured in Friday's storm.