Richmond faces tornado warning; three dead in Virginia

At 5:58 p.m. on Wednesday, the University of Richmond issued a UR Alert for a tornado warning.

"Tornado Warning issued for campus until 6:30 pm. Move indoors to the lowest level of a building. Avoid windows," the alert read.

Students around campus were evacuated to safer locations until the threat officially passed at 6:12 p.m. with another UR Alert. "The tornado threat has passed but there is still potential for thunderstorms passing through the area," the alert read.

The Collegian has not confirmed any tornado sightings on campus.

In the Heilman Dining Center, as the tornado warning system sounded, students were told to evacuate the main dining area and move into the room where the food is served and the kitchen.

"Everyone was funnelling into the back kitchen area," senior Campbell Crochiere said. "It was a mass exodus, super chaotic, especially because D-hall was packed to begin with." 

Dining hall workers and campus police officers told students that they would have to stay in the food area until they got further instruction. It ended up being around 15 minutes and then we were able to go back to our tables, Crochiere said. 

Students in the middle of an art class in Modlin Center for the Arts had to move to a staircase for around 20 minutes.

"Our teacher had us bring our supplies to the stairwell," senior Katherine Desloge said. "It felt like it was 500 degrees in there," senior Taylor Katzovitz added. 

Freshman James Lovett was sitting The Cellar in the Tyler Haynes Commons when the tornado alarm on campus sounded. 

"I honestly thought it was a fire alarm until I looked at my phone and I got a text saying tornado warning," he said. "And I was like 'so glad I didn't walk outside.' They huddled us into a hallway and there we stood until allowed out. And now back to cellar. Time for a steak.”

Three people in Virginia were killed, as severe thunderstorms swept through Virginia Wednesday afternoon.

This story will updated as more information becomes available.

Contact editor-in-chief Jack Nicholson at jack.nicholson@richmond.edu