A powerful tornado touched down in Gloucester County Saturday night, leaving a straight-line path of destruction from the communities of Coke and Clopton, devastating Page Middle School and touching down again at Ware Neck, before eventually heading off to Deltaville and then out into the Chesapeake Bay.

The storm, which struck around 7 p.m., caused at least three deaths and profound damage in Gloucester. A large portion of Page Middle School, about 10 school buses and an undetermined number of homes were destroyed. Trees were down in large swaths along Hickory Fork and Cedar Bush roads.

The freakish nature of the tornado became apparent as miles of roadside appeared undisturbed, every lawn ornament and dogwood blossom in place in front yards. Turning a bend in the road, one would suddenly come upon rows of homes with pine trees through the roofs, alleys of pines snapped off and pushed from the roadsides…and on some home sites, everything gone down to the foundations.

Na...