June 19th earned the nickname “Day of Danger” as meteorologists warned of severe weather for the Mid Atlantic; it looks like those warnings helped with a lack of injury and fatality reports after the outbreak. Today, the National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes in Pennsylvania, one in Maryland, and one in Delaware from the Day of Danger severe weather outbreak.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Mount Holly NJ has confirmed an EF-0 tornado near Shartlesville in Berks County Pennsylvania on June 19, 2017. A storm survey found a damage path of trees that were located on private property behind Mountain Springs Campground on the southern slope of Blue Mountain. The most concentrated damage consisted of several large hardwood trees that were uprooted and snapped at a private residence off of nearby Mountain Road. The direction of the felled trees exhibited a rotational pattern consistent with tornadic damage.
According to a report by the Mount Holly NWS office, geo-located damage photos from a trained storm spotter was used to help estimate the beginning location of the tornado since the NWS storm surveyor was unable to access the property. The trained spotter observed tree damage just north of Interstate 78 adjacent near Campsite Road, Northkill Road and Forge Dam Road.
The same NWS office also confirmed a tornado near Greenwood in Sussex County Delaware on June 19, 2017. Straight-line wind damage was also observed in the area.
A path of straight-line winds started in a wooded area near the intersection of Adams Road and 583A, which is behind the Delaware Electric Coop facility. Several trees were snapped and uprooted, then the south end of a warehouse at the Delaware Electric Coop was pushed in with two large garage doors blown out. A section of the roof was also significantly damaged. Security camera footage showed very strong winds moving through the the building, however there was no clear evidence of a tornado. This narrow but intense downburst continued east-northeast and caused areas of tree damage. The straight-line winds were estimated to be between 75-80 mph.
Radar data, which was very close by, indicated a rotation signature which intensified for a time as an outflow boundary settled southeastward and interacted with this storm. The radar was scanning within 600 feet above ground level, with even evidence of a tornado debris signature in the dual-pol data. A tornado touched down between Nanticoke River and the intersection of Sugar Hill Road and St. Johnstown Road, and tracked northeastward for about .6 miles before lifting. There was significant damage to a farm, with a couple of small barns destroyed with a lot of debris lofted and blown far across an adjacent field. Several trees were snapped or blown over along with damage to a few nearby power poles and wires. A large unoccupied chicken coup, about 200 feet in length, was lifted and moved several feet off its foundation with some metal roof panels on the north end were twisted in a southerly direction. Across the street from the farm on Sugar Hill Road, a couple sections of large central pivot irrigation systems were lifted and tipped onto their side. Each section of the irrigation weighs about 8,800 pounds.As the storm moved east-northeast to the Lincoln and Ellendale areas, some sporadic areas of straight-line wind damage occurred mostly to large trees. Some of the trees were snapped toward the top, while areas between the farm and Ellendale had trees uprooted or snapped.
The National Weather Service office for Washington, DC & Baltimore also confirmed an EF-0 tornado in Montgomery County, Maryland. The short lived tornado touched down at about 3:48pm; with 70mph winds, the tornado was about 100 yards wide and traveled 0.2 miles.
Lastly, the National Weather Service Office in Pittsburgh, PA announced that an EF-0 tornado with 80 mph winds touched down in Shippenville, PA at around 5:45pm.
