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

Residents in parts of southwest Virginia were urged to take immediate shelter on Friday night after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Tornado Warning for Gate City, Weber City and Clinchport.

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 p.m. EDT for portions of Lee and Scott counties.

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