HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- CBS 6 Storm Chaser Andrew Smith confirmed a tornado touchdown in Hanover County Friday evening.
Smith was able to capture a video of the tornado, which touched down near Beaverdam Road north of Montpelier, just after 6:30 p.m.
“He has a tornado on the ground… As you can see there, it's an intermittent funnel cloud that will come and touch the ground and go back up,” CBS 6 Chief Meteorologist Zach Daniel said.
Then Smith noted that he saw debris in the distance.
“There's debris being flung up. It’s definitely on the ground," Smith said. "There's no condensation funnel. But there is debris being flung, so there's definitely a tornado on the ground."
About 30 seconds later, Smith said conditions were too dangerous, so he drove to safety.
“I gotta move. This thing's coming right at me. I’ve got to go,” Smith said.
CBS 6 was in live severe weather coverage with Smith tracking the tornado for around 10 minutes before any warning was issued. This was the first time in history that a tornado in Virginia has been shown live in the Richmond television market.
No injuries were reported, but the storm downed numerous trees, which damaged some homes.
Smith, a Virginia Tech alum, has a degree in atmospheric science and has been chasing storms for CBS 6 for several years.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
