EF2 Tornado — Fayette, Pennsylvania

2023-08-25 · near Mill Run, Fayette, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

This survey found a concentrated area of extensive tree damage and

sporadic minor structural damage that began on a farmland plateau

northwest of Mill Run along Hampton Road, and continued southeast

for approximately 2 miles, crossing Route 381, and ending along

Turkey Foot Road. This track cut across Yogi Bear's Jellystone

Park resort and campground, where several hundred campers were

present. A mixture of several hundred mature softwood and hardwood

trees were snapped or uprooted across the campground, with many

landing on RVs, cabins, shelters, and other structures throughout

the campground. Several park fixtures including water slides,

wagons, and other unique damage indicators were also observed to

have sustained significant damage. Several tents were destroyed.

Three injuries are known to have occurred in the park from

falling trees.

The tornado then continued across Highway 381, producing

additional damage to several tree groves and two farmsteads as

the tornado crossed Fairmont Road. Metal roofing was removed from

several outbuildings, power poles were snapped, and a mobile home

was rolled over a vehicle, landing on its side. Three additional

injuries were reported at these locations.

Drone footage was paramount in helping to document this tornado in

a region of challenging terrain and limited roads, and was used

to help identify its beginning and ending points, as well as path

width. The shear extent of tree damage within the Yogi Bear park

is consistent with an EF-2 rating and maximum wind speeds of

approximately 120 mph.

Wider weather episode

Strong thunderstorms developed along a cold front across the Central and Lower Great Lakes during the late evening and overnight hours of August 24-25, 2023. These thunderstorms were in an environment of strong to extreme instability, along with sufficient low-level and deep-layer wind shear for organized and rotating thunderstorms. This allowed storms that developed over Michigan to organize into a fast-moving cluster of thunderstorms that produced extensive wind damage and a number of tornadoes between southern Lower Michigan and southwestern Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.9574, -79.4664)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1134006. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.