Gate City tornado warning: Maps show areas under alerts as severe storms threaten Lee, Scott and Wise counties

The NWS has issued tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of southwest Virginia on Friday night. Residents in parts of southwest Virginia were urged to take immediate shelter on Saturday night after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Tornado Warning for Gate City, Weber City and Clinchport.The NWS has issued tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of southwest Virginia on Friday night (Unsplash)The warning came as severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds, large hail and possible tornadoes tracked across Lee, Scott and Wise counties. Storm spotters also reported a funnel cloud near Fort Blackmore as conditions rapidly deteriorated.According to the NWS, the tornado warning remained in effect until 10:15 pm EDT for portions of Lee and Scott counties. This includes Gate City, Weber City and Clinchport.Also read: Dover, Delaware tornado damage videos: EF-1 twister leaves trail of destruction; 'I felt my life was over'NWS advised residents to move immediately to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.The NWS has also maintained a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Lee, Scott and Wise counties until 9:45 pm EDT. Meteorologists warned that the storm was capable of producing 60 mph wind gusts, quarter-size hail and conditions favourable for tornado development.Maps show storm moving toward Gate CityThe latest NWS warning placed the storm about 9 miles northwest of Gate City, moving southeast at approximately 25 mph.Forecasters said communities expected to be impacted included Big Stone Gap, Duffield, Clinchport, Dryden, Jasper and Pattonsville.Maps accompanying the warnings highlighted the affected portions of Lee County, Scott County and Wise County in southwest Virginia. Residents were encouraged to monitor updates through the NWS, local emergency management agencies and NOAA Weather Radio.Meteorologist David Boyd of WCYB also alerted residents about the severe thunderstorm warningFunnel cloud reported near Fort BlackmoreAs the storm intensified, weather spotter Dr. Crawfish Weather posted on X that he and Morristown NWS witnessed a funnel cloud descending near Fort Blackmore, Virginia. “Good call tornado warning,” the post read. The weather tracker added that hail was already impacting the location.Also read: Tornado near Cleveland? Latest radar as warning issued for Westlake, Elyria, North Ridgeville and North OlmstedThe NWS said the storm posed several hazards beyond the tornado threat. These included hail damage to vehicles, fallen trees, power outages and structural damage caused by winds reaching 60 mph.Officials advised residents to stay away from windows, charge electronic devices in case of power failures and avoid travelling until the storms pass.Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More