<P> On February 24, 2016, the town was hit by a large EF3 tornado causing massive damage . </P> <P> Tappahannock is located on the east side of Essex County at 37 ° 55 ′ 20" N 76 ° 51 ′ 47" W ﻿ / ﻿ 37.92222 ° N 76.86306 ° W ﻿ / 37.92222; - 76.86306 (37.922180, - 76.863158), on the southwest bank of the Rappahannock River . </P> <P> U.S. Routes 17 and 360 pass through the town . US 17 passes through the center of town as Church Lane, leading northwest 47 miles (76 km) to Fredericksburg and southeast 70 miles (110 km) to Newport News . US 360 runs through town with US 17 on Church Lane, but turns east on Queen Street and crosses the mile - wide Rappahannock, continuing east 39 miles (63 km) to its terminus in Reedville near the Chesapeake Bay . US 360 leads southwest from Tappahannock 45 miles (72 km) to Richmond, the state capital . </P> <P> According to the United States Census Bureau, the town 2.7 square miles (6.9 km), of which 2.6 square miles (6.7 km) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km), or 2.84%, is water . </P>

How far is tappahannock virginia from richmond virginia