[5] Western Virginia was particularly hard hit, with additional tornadoes confirmed in Alleghany, Bath, Culpeper, Fauquier and Loudoun Counties.
At 12:55 p.m. (EDT), as many as 155 students were attending classes at Rye Cove High School, near the town of Clinchport, when a strong thunderstorm approached from the southwest and produced a tornado just 0.5 mi (0.80 km) away.
[8] Next to the school, the tornado struck a log house that was built in the 1850s, picking up the entire structure and carrying some of its furniture up to 4 mi (6.4 km) away.
[8] Moments later, the tornado struck, reportedly causing it to “explode”[9] and violently spread debris over a wide area.
The powerful storm killed one teacher and 12 students, carrying their bodies up to 75 yards (69 m) from the school’s limestone foundation.