this is appomattox county since 1950. governor mcauliffe was in appomattox county on thursday to tour the damage left behind by the tornado.he visited the white pine drive area and spoke to people who live there. wednesday's tornado destroyed many of their homes. governor mcauliffe said he couldn't believe the destruction and is relieved people took shelter when they did. "if this had happened in the middle of the night, i'll tell you this, fatalities would have been way up. the kids were in school they kept the kids in school. so folks are very smart."after his tour through appomattox, the governor headed to waverly in eastern virginia.the storm killed three people there, including a 2-year-old boy. after the tornado, many are still without power and needing a place to stay. the american red cross has 2 shelters set up. one at the appomattox community center, the other in neighboring pamplin. residents tell wfxr news they're happy for all of the work that the red cross "i am thankful and grateful for the shelter and for

this is appomattox county since 1950. governor mcauliffe was in appomattox county on thursday to tour the damage left behind by the tornado.he visited the white pine drive area and spoke to people who live there. wednesday's tornado destroyed many of their homes. governor mcauliffe said he couldn't believe the destruction and is relieved people took shelter when they did. "if this had happened in the middle of the night, i'll tell you this, fatalities would have been way up. the kids were in school they kept the kids in school. so folks are very smart."after his tour through appomattox, the governor headed to waverly in eastern virginia.the storm killed three people there, including a 2-year-old boy. after the tornado, many are still without power and needing a place to stay. the american red cross has 2 shelters set up. one at the appomattox community center, the other in neighboring pamplin. residents tell wfxr news they're happy for all of the work that the red cross volunteers are doing. "i am thankful and grateful fo

let's talk about the two tornadoes confirmed: 1 evergreen in appomattox county ef3, winds: 136- 165 path width: 400 yds width of four football fields path length: 13 miles 7 injuries, 1 fatality 2 ararat in patrick county ef1, winds 95-105 path width: 0.5 miles path length: 1.75 miles no injuries our thoughts and prayers remain with all involved in nats of storm -- winds whipping? now at six ... we now know an e-f-3 tornado with 133 to 165 mile-per-hour county the storm's swath was 13- miles long and 400-yards wide. this is the aftermath. homes leveled ... cars smashed ... and trees knocked down. with the commonwealth under a state of emergency .. governor terry mcauliffe tours the devastation. gov. terry mcauliffe: "it's incredible, after a tornado of this size and width and length, to see everybody out, the communities pulling together -- doing what we can to help everybody." for many .. debris is all that's left of what was once called home. meanwhile .. signs of hope as prayers are said tonight and helping hands reach out to those picking up the pieces. "god has a plan for this commu

appomattox county high school football coach doug smith. he's drving one his players to central baptist church. one of many buildings devastated by wednesday's e-f-3 tornado. he and his team are trying to save what strong northwest the ongoing el nino may go down in the record books as the strongest ever measured, and has contributed to rain, snow, and the whole kitchen sink in virginia over the past few months. el nino is forecast to gradually weaken as we head into spring, but does that mean the weather will calm down, or is the commonwealth in line for more active weather? meteorologist taylor kanost takes a look in this wfxr news special report. godzilla el nino. no, it's not exactly a giant monster parading through downtown roanoke, but it has sparked some wild weather in southwest virginia from historic flooding to record heat to crippling winter storms. predicting what's next is no easy task, but i'm going to give it a shot. since climatologists began measuring the temperatures of the pacific ocean in 1950, only two el ninos have liv

right now in appomattox county, there without power. appalachian power also reporting hundreds of outages mainly across the region. here's a live look at that outage map: around 4-hundred people are in the dark this morning in roanoke county. 2-hundred in franklin county. high numbers in patrick county, where 7-hundred people are without power right now. here on good day virginia. a community shelter has been set up in appomattox county for any residents who are without a place to stay. wfxr's paris holmes has more on how many people have been there throughout the night and what's next. i spoke to a couple volunteers here at the appomattox community center and they say there were about 10 victims here earlier sleeping on the cots behind me. they left because they found somewhere else to stay. but they have about 15 cots here with pillows and warm blankets for any of the victims affected by this tragedy. the volunteers are here from social services and the red cross. they will be relieved in a little while more volunteers, and their job i

i'm outside the appomattox county courthouse where the press conference just finished. we heard from the county public information officer as well as the sheriff. the sheriff gave us the name of the person who died as a result his name is edward keith harris. he was 78. search and rescue found him not too far from his home in the evergreen area. officials are urging people to please stay away from the impacted areas. there are still down trees, downed power lines.very dangerous situations for people driving or walking around. there are still many without power, about 40 percent of the county without power. they are asking people to not eat any food that has been out of temperature. also, they have two shelters available, appomattox community center and the fire department. our area is a very loving area, a supportive area. many people are asking how they can help, how can they donate. what officials are doing right now is gathering information from local relief agencies so they can make sure people who donate are really going to get their donations to the victims that re

let's talk about the two tornadoes confirmed: 1 evergreen in appomattox county ef3, winds: 136- 165 path width: 400 yds width of four football fields path length: 13 miles 7 injuries, 1 fatality 2 ararat in patrick county ef1, winds 95-105 path width: 0.5 miles path length: 1.75 miles no injuries our thoughts and prayers remain with all involved in yesterday's tornadoes. it was no doubt very windy on thursday, with some gusts over 50 mph. it will remain windy for us through friday. as a matter of fact, a wind effect for areas along and west of the parkway until 7:00a on friday. these are the locations that could continue to see wind gusts over 40 or 50 mph. in addition to the wind, we did have mountain snow showers today too. parts of the nrv and highlands did return to winter today, with the favored west slopes above 2000 feet picking up on a light accumulation in spots. that chance for west slope snow showers will continue through this evening. tonight: mostly cloudy with any mountain snow showers ending, blustery with lows in the upper 20s to near 30. friday: partly to mostly sunny, c

several critically. 100 buildings in appomattox county are now damaged... including 20 homes which have been completely destroyed. and about 40- percent of the county is without power. virginia's national guard has also mobilized. more than 40 soldiers are on state active duty... as part of a multi-agency effort to help the areas... including patrick county... that were hit by an e-f one tornado. so far... the guard is focusing on debris removal efforts... like clearing blocked roads. an aerial team is also on stand-by to help with damage assessment. the town of waverly in sussex three of the storm's four deaths come from the small town. we turn now to kerri o-brien... who talks to residents about the loss. a trail of debris and devastion... pieces of metal, wood and insulation all scattered about in this area not far from where three people were killed. today i spoke with some of the folks who found the victims. pkg allison matthews/waver ly resident 49:04 "he was like it in the bathtub, get in the bathtub and me, her and the two year olds jumped in the bat

in appomattox county, paris holmes, wfxr news. for more information on for more information on how you can help the appomattox and patrick county communities- head to our website-virginia first dot com. election headquarters. tonight - we're wrapping up our look - at the candidates running for president. in some polls - bernie sanders has been running in a dead heat - against his only democratic contender.w-f-x-r's bill wadell takes a closer look - at where the u-s senator-- from vermont - stands on the issues important to virginians. presidential candidate "this is a race where you got to get 2400 delegates. 2400 delegates. so we are in this race to win it and i think we are going to pull of one of the great political upsets." bernie sanders - is the longest serving independent politician in congress. the 74-year-old from new york - graduated from brooklyn college - and the university of chicago. sanders has worked as carpenter and documentary film maker - before being elected a the mayor of burlington, vermont - winning by ten vo

natural debris may be hauled to the appomattox county landfill. they are extending their hours right now. the national guard and regional hazmat personnel will be on-site to separate hazardous materials. they also say to make sure when you are moving the debris that it's secure in your car so it doesn't go flying onto the highway. 3 mark tight they may have joined the emergency response group thinking they'd help with disaster relief all over the world. but right now.. a group of students from liberty university are getting the chance to help those in their own backyard. katie brooke is live in appomattox county after meeting up with them. katie liveu mark, 23 students spent the day here helping wherever needed -- loading belongings in uhauls, tacking tarps on roofs, and just being there for those they're here as 3 a part of lu send now, the university's emergency response team. students say it's crazy to think that back on campus, everything is fine. and they're just shocked to see the disaster around them here. one team from lu send now just got

schools at appomattox county will remain closed tomorrow. live at appomattox, tim saunders, wdbj 7. >> governor ma consulted i have -- mcauliff plans to do whatever toke help victims. he toured some of the hardest hit areas today by helicopter. ground. wdbj 7's shayne dwyer also in appomattox tonight. you got to walk with the governor as he surveyed the damage. what did you observe? >> chris, to us it seemed like he was truly in a sense of disbelief and seemed like he truly hurt for the victims here in appomattox county. he was walking through rubble, downed trees. people's lives just scattered throughout the farm side. he was joined by victims, as well as police and county officials in evergreen. this is one of the central areas that was hit very hard. very few people escaped without some damage. the governor was one of the first to see the damage from the air because of the strong wind conditions. this is how he described the damage in his own words. >> really gigantic trees just snapped in half and it rose from 12 to 15 miles. i was amazed

let's talk about the two tornadoes confirmed: 1 evergreen in appomattox county ef3, winds: 136- 165 path width: 400 yds width of four football fields path length: 13 miles 7 injuries, 1 fatality 2 ararat in patrick county ef1, winds 95-105 path width: 0.5 miles path length: 1.75 miles no injuries our thoughts and prayers remain with all involved in yesterday's tornadoes. it was no doubt very windy on thursday, with some gusts over 50 mph. it will remain windy for us through friday. as a matter of fact, a wind advisory remains in effect for areas along and west of the parkway until 7:00a on friday. these are the locations that could continue to see wind gusts over 40 or 50 mph. in addition to the wind, we did have mountain snow showers today too. parts of the nrv and highlands did return to winter today, with slopes above 2000 feet picking up on a light accumulation in spots. that chance for west slope snow showers will continue through this evening. tonight: mostly cloudy with any mountain snow showers ending, blustery with lows in the upper 20s to near 30. friday: partly to mostly sunny

also live tonight in appomattox county. colter -- you've been following from appomattox. what are people you spoke to saying tonight? behind me here is a very dark sign, as just a couple of hours and emergency crews cleaning up from the storm. "i just didn't think i was going to make it. the wind and the rain, it was devastating." alice clerval clung to trees for dear life in her front yard as the storm passed through. her mobile home was completely destroyed, everything a total loss. thankfully, she her two sons and her 17- year-old dog are safe. her next-door neighbor was storm came through. thankfully he was able to get to his basement in time. sandy hamlett, sr./survived storm "with the wind blowing, it sounded like a train, it was right on me." stand up "while his home wasn't damaged from the store several of his beehives like this one here the honey still intact scattered all across the ground. he says he will be able to save a few of the hives but for the most part they are a total loss." dominion power plans to be on scene all night and says it will likely be mid

the video sent in to us from a viewer from appomattox county. you can see here what appears to be a tornado coming togetherto be a tornado coming together. you can see the wind really start to pull that debris in as the funnel cloud really takes shape there, and then the tornado touches down. watch this just for a second longer until you see everything come together because it is almost all of a sudden -- there you go. coming down out of the sky. touching the ground there, and then you can really see the debris whipping up around this -- as it takes shape. let's go thrive marissa parra in appomattox county. 18 minutes down the road where we saw mona on central church road. what are you learning, marissa? >> danner, in the i have been here it has been really chaotic and all of us are trying to piece together what happened here. what we know -- turned the see this house showed you earlier was a little hard to see because it was nighttime. the own her left this trailer thanksgiving it would be safer to go into his car and it turns out -- that when

appomattox county has set up a help line for anyone in the area that needs assistance after yesterday's tornado. that number is in patrick county, a e-f 1 tornado hit the ararat community, destroying trees and homes. today, crews continued to clean up along ararat highway. vdot and the national guard were called in to help. patrick county board of supervisors chairman is thanking the emts and fire and rescue teams who responded so fast after the storm and helped get people to safety. roger hayden, chairman, patrick co board of supervisors, "it really bothers me to see this place damaged and the agony of the people but luckily no one was injuried or killed in this episode so, ya know that was a blessing." law enforcement will have a strong presence in patrick county at least through weekend. bathroom andso on were times to help you visualize what yesterday look like in terms where the tornadoes were and how they traveled it basically came from the southwest and went to the northeast of six this afternoon by various national weather service offices the strongest were the strongest two wer

we're continuing our team coverage in appomattox county tonight. rachel i understand that the national guard as been very helpful in this process. >> reporter: absolutely. throughout this process we have had a lot of churches and community organizations and volunteers providing aid in red emergency work -- and made a bit difference but throughout all of this there is a lot of heavy done. the governor declared a state of emergency and the national guard was able to be activated sending troops there. i have followed the troop more than about 50 soldiers that we're here today as they were helping with the relief efforts and it certainly was a welcome change for these homeowners. >> for those who still have long-standing downed trees and heavy but debris still linger making it impossible to move forward in making their house a home. >> it looks like we had a war. >> that is the case for this woman who survived the storm and so did her trailer. it took a beating from down trees she could not move and around. >> sightseers came up here and just looked. >

wdbj 7's amanda kenney joins us live from appomattox county. good afternoon, amanda. >> good afternoon, kimberly. this morning we were in the neighborhood of evergreen, that's where homes, among 20 that were destroyed. there were more than 100 other homes that have been damaged. families made their way back to their homes today to see what was left. some people were lucky enough to only suffer minor damages. others left everything and what they say was a really quick storm. >> hit the side of the house and you could hear the roofing going off and that was right then. >> now, the murphy family says they weren't home at the time three cats are still missing and right now they're finding whatever they can salvage, but thank you seems like people have already come together to help these families in this time of need. and kimberly, again, just as kim said, there are two shelters open for victims of the storm? several homes and structures were damaged in the ararat area of patrick county. these are new pictures this morning near ararat highway. no on

appomattox county for anyone needing assistance. here is the number: one- (434)352-2637. >>> governor terry mcauliff has been in the air and on the ground today in the airs affected by the storm. he made stops in appomattox county, waverly, and essex count toy look at the damage. wdbj 7's shayne dwyer is live in appomattox tonight. shayne, what did the governor say about the damage there? >> jean, the theme of his comments today was that virginia will not back down in the face of this destruction in the storm and that the commonwealth will be there to provide any support you can to the residence who are so badly hurting in this area and in other areas across virginia. the big winner arrived here just before noon by helicopter. he met with first responders and victims at the evergreen baptist church, which is the command post for this year. evergreen is the epicenter of damage in appomattox county. people here have lost everything is only one death from our area. the governor says that's thanks to advanced planning, a quick response,

morning in appomattox county. len, what does it look like out there this morning?len 3 pattie tight this morning -- a number of families are trying to figure out what comes next. many of them lost so much in a matter of minutes. but mona kosar abdi spoke with a man who lost nearly everything.. but is still looking on the bright side. 3 "it's unbelievable"jimmy womack.. sifts through piles of debris...where his garage once stood "it's probably totaled i don't know"the damage too great too track. "this is devastating"womack says he was home when the weather conditions took a turn for the worse."i told my mom to come to my house because i have a basement and she doesn't.although his mom lives next door she said the winds were too strong to make it over."i saw it coming so i told mom to lay down in the hallway and cover her head." womack stays the roof on his mother's house blew right off. but nothing compares to the damage done to his uncles house 2 houses over."i can't believe it"fortunately everyone walked away wit

wfxr's paris holmes joins us live at that shelter in appomattox county. paris, you just spoke to officials at that shelter. what did they tell you? good morning guys, i spoke to a couple volunteers here at the appomattox community center and they say there were about 10 victims here earlier sleeping on the cots behind me. they left because they found somewhere else to stay. but they have about 15 cots here with pillows and warm blankets for any of the victims affected by thistragedy. he also have food and drinks for waiting for them as well. the volunteers are here from social services and the red cross. they will be relieved in a little while more volunteers, and their job is not over. the red cross will be heading out to the disaster areas in evergreen and red house later on this morning to assess the damage and see how best they can assist. reporting in appomattox news. another arm of news. holmes, wfxr county, paris holmes, wfxr news. another arm of this storm hit eastern virginia. take a look at the damage in waverly-- near petersburg . virginia young

police say the total injured in appomattox county is 7. 3 pattie box gleaning for the world is also doing its part to help those dealing with the damage in appomattox. we were there as crews stopped at the walmart to gather supplies. walmart gave them water, flashlights, snacks, and ice to hand out to those impacted. gleaning took along blankets, pillows, and heat and eat meals.. shelters.rev. ron davidson, gleaning for the world"i was with a family this afternoon when they found out their home place had been destroyed. this is the kind of damage we work with and we're kind of used to it, but when it's in our own home area it hurts a lots worse."mark right now -- gleaning says it has enough supplies, but could use monetary donations. 3 3 pattie tight also -- state police tell us.. there are 2 shelters set up for families in appomattox county. one is at the community center at 2-20 community lane in the town of appomattox. the other is at the pamplin fire department. 3 pattie tight this morning -- a number of families are picking up the pieces. many of them lost so much in a matter of minu

live in appomattox county, tim saunders, wdbj7. charities and organizations are accepting money and food donations to help people in appomattox affected by wednesday's tornado. wdbj7's noell saunders joins us live tonight to tell us about how volunteers are getting food to those in need. jean, volunteers have been setting up tables and food trucks to help feed both people and pets. today, gleaning for the world set up a donation table at the sam's club in lynchburg. the group set up early this morning for eight hours taking in money, all kinds of food items and clean up supplies. many sam's club coming out of the store and visiting the table. gleaning for the world volunteers tell me their trucks are filled. the community in the area is just coming together. it's just been amazing. lynchburg always come together but i think when it hits closer to home. the community is awesome". gleaning for the world will set up again tomorrow in the sam's club parking lot from 10 a.m. to 6. they will also have another team at the walmart on oakvil

we are warm today and i wish we were not humid because that across south side and appomattox county. . millennial to becoming a major force in the housing market. according to consumer reports 75% of americans between 18 and their own home, high rental cost and student loan debt is making it difficult for down payments. wsls has aaron brookshire here to explain. >>reporter: like many millennial's, 25 route sarah boller was tired of throwing away money on high rent. she wanted to own her own apartment. >> i felt like the rental market was going up in price and i was good to spend a lot of money without a return on investment. >>reporter: even with a steady job she did not have enough for the 20% down payment that was and costly mortgage insurance. she was able to get a combination to help with these upfront costs. >>> these are intended to bring people into the housing market and they really have the basics in place and they just need a little something extra to get them into housing. >>> you can find more@downpaymentresource.com and you can learn about resources for firefighters and

appomattox county where we have just had a which assessing the damage. somewhat from a meteorological perspective so jeff how are things looking. >> frankly i've never seen any damage like this. this was an ef three tornado and we don't get those here in our viewing area. this was absolutely devastating to see. after seeing devastation like this it has always amazed me to see communities come together. you're seeing that tonight here in evergreen. upon entry into evergreen we ran into the appomattox county high school softball team assistant in the cleanup after the storm. a few of the team name -- team members had family members our hugely impacted by the store in. here's what jillian had to stay. >> this is where our parents these are the people they know and this is their home. for them to see the devastation brings sadness for a community of parents. we're doing whatever we can to get it back to the way it was. >> coming back into evergreen, i talked to quite a few people who were impacted by this. no one's that i hear awards me attitude. rather when

and garrett, one very important thing to note is the appomattox county sheriff's office and virginia state police is asking everyone to avoid traveling in around the county because roads are extremely dangerous because of debris. about 50 miles south of richmond, in sussex county, a suspected tornado killed three people, including a small child. here's some video of the aftermath there, in the town of waverly. virginia state police say the victims were two men, 50 and 26 years old - and a two year old boy. the mobile home they were in was destroyed. they were found about 300-yards away from the home. one survivor in waverly was in this storm came through. survivor: "it's like, with all the power lines going down, it was like a big ball of fire and all of the debris kicking up. all i could do was just pray and pray and pray and the wind actually picked the car up and dropped us down all i could do was hold on tight and tell my uncle that i love him and pray." the ararat region of patrick county is reporting extensive damage as well. it's in the area along ararat highway, between squirr

appomattox county schools are closed today. a community shelter has been set up in appomattox county for any residents who are without a place to stay. wfxr's paris holmes joins us live at that shelter in you just spoke to officials at that shelter. what did good morning guys, central virginia not the only place hit hard by the severe weather. take a look at the damage in waverly, that's not far from the petersburg area. investigators say a 2-year-old and two men were tossed from thier mobile home and killed tuesday afternoon. a curfew for the community was put in place last night and law enforcement have spent the night going door to door to make certain all residents are accounted for. desmond gardner/witness: it is tragic man i never seen nothing like this before i lost a good friend in the storm and my prayers go out to their family. the bodies of those killed have been sent to the medical examiner's office in norfolk for positive identification. four other buildings in waverly were destroyed by the storms. destroyed by the

this is only the third tornado to touch down in appomattox county since they started keeping track in 1950. 3 danner we have live team coverage from appomattox. marissa parra and courtney wheaton are live following new details about the storm. chief meteorologist george flickinger is in weather center. we begin our team coverage with marissa parra. 3 3 marissa satlive danner, one of the most important takeaways is that the storm may be over but it is still potentially dangerous to be outside. you can see the wind is pretty strong, and there is a lot of sharp, metal debris that can be easily picked up. it sounds like right now no one is even process... the focus is still on assessing damage, cleaning up and taking care of those without homes - human or animal. vdot says all roads are passable right now. and from what we heard, times may be tough but the help is just pouring in. it's been amazing. we've had a wonderful search team out of lynchburg we've had local guys, 3 emergency services units and they've done a trememendous job and we appreciate everything they've done for the county

the possible tornado went through appomattox county todaythrough appomattox county today. appears to be a funnel. you can see storms strengthening in these pictures as well. the national weather service will have to determine if an actual tornado passes through. they will get a team on the ground there and make that ruling. but by all accord -- all accounts here, it was a significant storm, lots of damage. and according to a company spokesperson, there is damage on the virginia transmission power line that delivers to cooperative. so we have significant outages there tonight. there are more than 3,000 affected members. cvec awaiting restoration work by dominion land assess damage on the distribution system. we are bringing you live coverage. if you know someone in that page, via facebook live. if you know someone who has an outage, reach out to them and let them know that we have coverage for them as well tonight. now go live to appomattox where mona kosar abdi is live right now. mona, what are you seeing? >> reporter: danner, the weather conditions are a stark contrast to

area when out to do their surveys in our area we had the at her ararat tornado in patrick county at one also appomattox in around the evergreen region and ef three just outside of our region mecklenburg county heading tf1 virginia also heading out to resell six tornado so far confirmed in our region and our commonwealth we are finding sunshine as we head through the afternoon temperatures topping out upper thirties to low forties today and you do notice the snow showers in around the region they will dwindle today we have that dryer air building in from the west of it should shut down we should start see those clouds breaking up as well a few more clouds tonight meaning into the area and then over the weekend should see a good amount of sunshine would just some fairweather clouds from time to time and temperatures deftly warming up you forecast for this friday would talk about gusty winds mostly sunny temperatures into the thirties and forties pretty much across the board head out tonight chilly again partly cloudy breezy just not windy lows in the teens and twenties and your first alert wtvj seven day

live in appomattox county .. colter we're learning "god's pit crew" will load trucks with relief supplies and head to appomattox tomorrow morning. the group plans to send blessing buckets .. gatorade .. and water around 10 a-m. g-p-c will also help with tree removal and other clean-up efforts in tappahannock. the american red cross has an emergency shelter in place at 2-20 community lane. disaster mental health volunteers are there .. tending to community member's emotional needs as well. gleaning for the world is also helping. the county has also established a help line. if you have questions -- call 4-3-4 .. 3-5-2 .. 2-6-3-7. after the break ... we'll continue our coverage on the rising cost of college here in the commonwealth. in a special education report -- what virginia lawmakers are dollars in debt. a virginia delegate says about one-million virginians owe more than $30- billion in student loans. tonight... wsls 10's jenna zibton continues a special education matters report -- taking a closer look at how st

who lived next door to these dogs for five years agrees. >> i think appomattox county has to wake up. appomattox county, the way they are treating animals and they are allowing animals to be treated, it's terrible. >> reporter: we reached out to the animal warden micki martin on this case as well, but we did not hear back from him. noreen. >> noreen: and we will keep trying, of course. bewant to know what you think about this. should virginia localities strengthen their animal protection laws. you can like our abc 13 facebook page and vote. >>> the umbrella, it is a must-have item over the next few days. >> noreen: maybe some galoshes >> mark: gal >>> all right, we already saidit. you got to have your umbrella. >> george: what was it galoshes. >> noreen: galoshes. i was asking during the break if they even make them. i remember my dad wearing them. >> george: dress warmly, a cold main. here is what to expect. wednesday. we are going to have rain. the rain is going to begin for most of us between 7 and midnight. a 1 a 100% chance of rain overnight. this means if you can pick up abc 13

possible tornado cuts path of destruction through appomattox county appomattox co., va. - appomattox county was severely impacted wednesday (feb. 24) by a reported funnel cloud that left an 8-10 mile the storm and multiple structures damaged along route 460 and route 727, and into the communities of evergreen and promise land. of the seven injuries, two are serious. state and local first responders are currently in evergreen searching for a missing adult male whose residence was destroyed in the storm. there are numerous downed trees and power lines county wide, with an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 residences currently without electricity. appomattox county has set up two shelters for local residents: the community center at 220 community lane in the town of thursday, feb. 25, 2016, as clean up continues through the morning hours and roads are re- opened. many students remain at the appomattox primary school, as the school district is working to contact parents. buses were cancelled for the students' safety as roads became impassable due the in the process of setting available resources.

appomattox county has seen some of the worst damaged tonight.d1s`0 colter, you were inside when that storm hit and you have been assessing the conditions in appomattox since arriving there. >> reporter: i did just right here a few minutes to go along for 60. pieces of debris like this, this looks like a piece of wood that maybe came from a house. i will step out and zoom in. you can kind of get a better idea of what is going on. i haven't had a chance to talk to anybody or see anything. but clearly, you can see the trees down there and traffic is backed up in both directions east and west on for 60. you can see it there. people are getting out of their cars and walking around. looking at the damage themselves. this is something i have been singing ever since i left appomattox coming to the evergreen area. as i can to the left, i will go ahead and zoom out and you can see some trees that have $ot: uprooted. pieces of what i would guess from a hold or rough. this is all up and down for 60 -- 460. you can see across the road on the eastbound side of 460, you can see the homes that have n

appomattox county school are closed, employee code 2. greenbrier county schools in west virginia are opening three hours late. schools in monroe county, west virginia are two hours late. pocahontas county, west virginia and tazewell county open two hours late. gusty winds days snow showers continue in those areas but as we head through today mopes to that will slowly come to an and but southwestern virginia the mountains a west virginia it have to watch upper a few slick spots is you heading out this morning here's you weather headlines a chilly start you deftly one a bundle up temperature say twenties and thirties probably on your home tomorrow but at the wind benefiel colder than that strong gusty winds will have increasing sunshine county. but the shelters are open. wdbj7's amanda kenney is at one of the shelters this morning. good morning, amanda good morning, kimberly. i'm at the appomatox community center, and the other shelter is at the pamplin fire department. they're staying open as local leaders continue to encourage victims to

so many people are out cleaning up today... 3 danner plasma appomattox county officials did hold a news conference just a few hours ago. they say the outpouring of support they're seeing has been unbelievable but the work is nowhere near done.we will continue to work together in the upcoming days and weeks to assist those in need and to strengthen our community. 3 danner our team coverage picks up tonight with valerie bragg and suri crowe. valerie -- an appomattox mother lost her son seven years ago and now the tornado swept away his urn. valerie -- just a heartbreaking story. 3 valerie liveu danner, it's the sentimental things that a lot of these tornado victims are trying to find because those are the things you cannot replace. for ashes are somewhere out there -- and she hopes somebody finds them. 3 an all day search turned up bits and pieces of her son's urn. (:04) "it was an old pooh bear cookie jar that i chose for him."3 sully mccune louis died from sids seven years ago. samantha already lost him oncea& now this timea& (:08) "it's 10 times worse because it makes me feel like i lo

we have teachers and students from appomattox county high school. even players from the school's football team are out here to lend a helping hand. this tragedy has affected two of a look at what's left of ??'s 3 home. it has been reduced to rubble. but help has been coming in, from more ways than one. we caught up with dr. chris king the pastor of the evergreen baptist church who tells me donations have been pouring in."incue: we were just overwhelmed by...... outcue: over the next few days"mona liveu3 dr. king says at this time they do not need anymore perishable food donations. he says for those that would like the donate should look at their facebook ---that is where they will be posting what items are most needed. mona kosar abdi. 3 3 3 noreen plasma that church itself may not be able to fit more right at this moment but the area is still in need of your help. gleaning for the world is set up right now at the sam's club in lynchburg, collecting items for the victims today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. they'll also have a collection sit

tomorrow, appomattox county schools will be closed. and patrick county schools will operate on a two-hour delay. some of the worst damage in our region is in appomattox county. dozens of homes are damaged or destroyed in the community of evergreen. wdbj7's tim saunders is live there tonight. melissa, this is what we're seeing all over this area. trees are down and so are power lines. virtually no one in appomattox county has electrictity dozens of homes are damaged, and a mobile home across the highway from where i'm standing was completely torn apart. the woman who lived there says she doesn't understand how she survived. the storm that did this to alice clerval's house wednesday afternoon came so fast, she didn't have time to do anything but run outside. alice clerval: "i don't know how i made it. i really don't." clerval says her son got an alert on his cell phone that a tornado was approaching the area. clerval: "just a minute after that my son opened the door and said tornado! tornado! he took off and i took off." less than a mile

appomattox county schools are still closed. pocahontas and greenbrier county west virginia are operating on a delayed schedule. storm team ten meteorologist kristina montuori joins us now with more on the forecast.. kristina? # today will start windy. the wind will gradually weaken through this evening. temperatures will top out in the lower 40s. tonight will be mostly clear with lows in the upper 20s saturday will be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s. sunday will be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 50s and lower 60s. monday looks partly to mostly cloudy with a few showers in our westernmost counties. temperatures will top out in the lower 60s tuesday will start with sunshine, and then end with more cloud- cover. a few late-day showers are possible. temperatures will top out in the lower 60s. scattered rain showers are highs in the lower to middle 50s. thursday will be breezy with increasing sunshine. temperature reach the windy. the wind will gradually weaken through this evening. time now for your timesaver traffic

possible tornado cuts path of destruction through appomattox county appomattox co., va. - appomattox county was severely impacted wednesday (feb. 24) by a reported funnel cloud that left an 8-10 mile path of destruction in its wake. at this hour, we want to take you live waverly from chopper 10. the best way to get the real scope of what yesterday's storms left behind is from the air. we're learning that the virginia national guard will be sending out 50 soldiers this morning to help with the storm cleanup. teams will be equipped with humvees and chainsaws to clear downed trees. they will be going to sussex county, richmond, westmoreland, and essex counties. state police say three people died in a mobile home here in waverly. a 50-year-old man, a 26-year-old man, and a 2-year old baby boy. we've seen damage all over waverly and sussex county. many houses are destroyed. we've seen roofs and walls ripped off businesses. we'll keep chopper 10 up throughout the morning and show you more of the damage as we continue on fox43. meteorologist jeremy much calmer day around the area this mornin

appomattox county schools and cornerstone christian academy are closed... patrick county schools are going in two hours late. there are numerous reports of downed trees... fallen power lines... and storm damage. fifty soldiers in virginia guard will be deployed this morning to help with clean-up. several shelters are also open for people, many of whom have no power. we have live team coverage this morning... erin brookshier is in appomatox with a look at the damage and how people are recovering this morning. but we start with storm team ten meteorologist kristina montuori.. kristina.. the storms may be gone... but now we're dealing with high winds. # today will be mostly cloudy and cooler with highs in the upper 40s. most of us stay dry, however, our west va. counties and counties boarding west va. will see scattered light snow showers. the wind will be a huge factor. we could have gusts over 50 mph, especially in our highest elevations west of the blue ridge parkway. the saturated ground along with the high wind could cause trees to fall. friday will start

susan adams, appomattox county administrator - "the one thing about appomattox county is that it is a very friendly community and the churches have done a tremendous job or providing housing that any of the dislocated people have needed."danner tight you can help too. there are several locations to dropp off donations. we have those for you at wset.com. 3 3 mark tight one man was killed in appomattox in this storm. 78 year old edward harris was found in a field. katie brooke has more on him tonight live from appomattox. katie liveu mark, i'm told by friends at the evergreen baptist church today that harris lived here all his life -- he was a farmer, and had a community. sheriff letterman tells me harris lived here off twin tunnels lane in a mobile home. rescue workers found him 300 yards from his house last night around 10 p.m. they say he was in a hayfield, covered in hay. search and rescue teams just finished up their mission -- and confirm every person is accounted for now here in appomattox. state police say 20 homes were destroyed by this tornado. and at least 100 structures had

do take it to the appomattox county landfill. they've increased their hours to accommodate the need. the site is being staffed by the national guard and a regional hazmat national guard and staffed by the need. accommodate the hours to appomattox convience centers. trash collection or don't take it to from the tornado. debris left behind coming in about information tonight 3 3 danner pots tonight new information coming in about what to do with the debris left behind from the tornado. don't take it to trash collection or convience appomattox county landfill. they've increased their hours to accommodate the need. the site is being staffed by the national guard and a regional hazmat team. sot: vicky phelps, "make sure that you secure your loads of debri in your vehicle with proper restraints just to avoid losing items on the roadway which can create a hazard."danner pots if you want to donate to help with relief efforts, all donations need to go to gleaning for the world in concord or the lynchhburg fire station. financial donations

again the community shelter in appomattox county is going to be open. >>> as we have said, many reports of damage and people trapped in the county. >> mark: that's right our team coverage with marissa parr a out looking at the destruction. you got stuck on route 460 by a downed mystery there. >> reporter: yes a downed>> reporter: yes a down>> reporter: yes a eded tree and a downed power line which is just more dangerous because a stream. a lot of flooding around here. a lot of moving water and as we all know electricity and water does not make a good combination. there is a lot of -- there is a lot of fear that people might accidentally be stepping into -- into those areas that are dangerous. you can see over my shoulder. this is the church that we were talking about. the church that served extensive damage. this is here in appomattox county is -- it is a state your name. community. it is just absolutely destroyedit is just absolutely the roof has been taken off. it mentions the fallen tombit mentions the fallen tombstone earlier. if it comes a little over this way. we mentioned a house

appomattox county yesterday afternoon. the appomattox county sheriff's office has released the name of the person who died during the storm. 78 year old edward keith harris found near his home on twin tunnel lane his body was located around 10 p.m. last night. wsls ten's erin brookshier has been in the area since early morning.... and joins us live with more on the cleanup process. erin what's happening there right now? ### we've seen dozens of families and volunteers cleaning up and sorting through the debris. you can see the home behind me... this is just one.... of dozens of homes in this area that has been destroyed. some have minor damage.. are just missing shingles or some siding, but others have been completely leveled. pulled up by the roots... the sides or top levels of homes come platelet pulled off. at this point, many people are just sorting through the debris, looking for valuable items. sheila ferguson / cleaning up friend's home - "when you see your really good friend has built her home and all of her things

live in appomattox county, tim aheadyeah lunacy more that over the next several days helping everybody out the severe weather has long gone since wednesday we still do would some gusty winds in around the area just beware that you still have that issue not as windy as previous days we at the wind us in that 40 to 50 mylan our range right now mainly in the team to twenty mylan our range a little thirty two mylan our wind 32 mylan our wind us over toward galax 26 roanoke seventeen in lexington now be the trend through the afternoon will start see that subside over the next twenty four 2448 hrs. but you still notice as he head toward tonight still have wind us in that twenty mylan our range for some but overnight some areas getting really light with the wind that's will really need as we head through the upcoming weekend and he can still find some snow showers as well mostly confined toward the mountains a west virginia finding a few to the south and east and overall as we make our way through the day things will be improving their and will start see some quieter conditions so still you f

appomattox county. there are people trapped and i want you to look right here in the middle of your screen. this is video just in of a possible tornado. in fact, it appears to be a tornado from daniel wrote in pure right here in our viewing area -- in pure -- vera.>> this is just east of appomattox on route 460. wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour move through our area. for that reason, we want to get right back over to the chief meteorologist on word on when this will be over.>>> the best i can give you is that the worst of it is over that man, what an active weather day it was. after looking at that picture from appomattox county, i don't work for the national weather service. i cannot really judge of that was a tornado by just looking at that picture but from doing this for several years, it certainly looks like tornado damage to me. and that is why we are on the friend for the better part of the last two hours or so if you will notice that we continue to see rain showers across parts of bedford in pen

this is video from appomattox county where a fourth person was killed. a 78 year old man died when his home was tornado. officials report about a hundred buildings were damaged. one man who has lived in the area for fifty years told our sister station -- w-s- l-s -- he has never seen anything like this in his entire life. governor terry mcaullife was in appomattox county earlier today -- he said they were prepared for the storms and moved resources as quickly as they could. gov. mcauliffe 12:09:15 in: we knew where these potential tornadoes were going to touch down out: it was really incredible to look at that and see what was happening. 12:09:32 governor mccaullife says after he's been able to make a full assessment of the damage the state will be able to ask the federal government for the help it needs. by wednesday afternoon the red cross was already headed to waverly to offer support to first responders and residents impacted by the storm. red cross volunteers set up emergency shelters in the storms - including appomattox county -- sussex county and

appomattox county was of course hit hard in that storm. river ridge road is blocked near because of toppled cedar bend road is also closed at cub same problem. asking people to avoid driving today in that county. we're also seeing minor icy patches on even the main roads in bland, tazewell counties. there are slick spots wythe county as well. the eastern coyote has made its southwest virginia. authorites say the capacity meaning they're becoming all too familiar with people. now we have to learn how to live with them but for some that can come at a cost. here's a look at the species' history and how its presence is being felt throughout southwest virginia in our special from nuisance to threat--the eastern coyote. known as one of the most adaptable mammals in the world, biologists say the eastern coyote is now a permanent fixture in southwest virginia. jim bowman, a regional biologist for the virginia department of game and inland fisheries, says there were reports of coyotes as early as the 1950s but it wasn't until 20 years later that th

it's been two days since the e- f-3 tornado touched down in appomattox county ... bringing with it winds up to 165-miles-per- hour. the damage is extensive ... and today ... families ... emergency crews ... and volunteers are lending their support to those in need. storm team ten chief meteorologist jeff haniewich is on the ground in evergreen toured the devastation today ... he has the latest on the public safety agencies like the national guard are planning their roles in the cleanup after governor terry mcauliffe declared a state of emergency wednesday following the tornadoes that touched down across the commonwealth. wsls ten's rachel lucas has more on how soldiers are helping in appomattox county. there is still a lot of work to be done, a lot of debris, downed trees. it's going to take a while l but i can tell you we have been here since early yesterday morning and in that time a lot of progress has been made.. and the national guard has really made a difference. vo we have had a lot of great volunteer groups but there's been a lot of heavy lifting and that s