Suspected twister hits Va. county at quake center (AP)

LOUISA, Va. – A suspected tornado has torn the roof off a centuries-old plantation house in the Virginia county that was the epicenter of an earthquake in August.

Louisa County spokeswoman Amanda Reidelbach says the damage occurred Thursday afternoon at Sylvania in the town of Louisa, a house that dates to 1746.

Reidelback says the home's roof was completed blown off and columns were toppled. She says there have been no reports of injuries.

The funnel cloud was reported in the northwest area of the county about 3:45 p.m.

More than 40 aftershocks have hit the county since the August earthquake, which shook buildings in Washington and New York. The quake's epicenter was in the town of Mineral, only about 6 miles away from the town of Louisa.

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Tropical Storm Jose forms near Bermuda:National Hurricane Center (Reuters)

MIAMI (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Jose formed near Bermuda on Sunday, becoming the 10th named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, U.S. forecasters said.

The Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said Jose formed about 115 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and was moving northward. It posed no threat to the U.S. coast or to energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm was packing top sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and moving north at about 16 mph, the hurricane center said.

It said tropical storm conditions were expected on Bermuda, where Jose could dump up to 3 inches of rain but the storm was forecast to lose strength later on Sunday after passing near the British territory.

Jose formed as Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season, was closing in on New York City after churning its way up the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina, where it made landfall Saturday.

(Reporting by Tom Brown; Editing by Bill Trott)

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