EF1 tornado in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

An EF-1 tornado occurred near Kirkwood on the evening of June 14th. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be 100 mph and the tornado had a maximum path width of 30 yards. Tree damage associated with the tornado was first noted along Wesley Road between Puseyville Road and Noble Road in Little Britain Township. The tornado continued into Colerain Township, producing sporadic damage to trees on Noble Road and to power poles on Kirkwood Pike.

A low pressure system stations across central Quebec with a trailing cold front across the Great Lakes allowed for central Pennsylvania to experience residence time within the warm sector throughout much of the day on June 14, 2026. Initial shower activity during the morning and early afternoon hours stayed largely non-hazardous before convection began across western Pennsylvania during the afternoon and evening hours. Clearing skies after the initial showers and thunderstorms allowed for instability to rise above 1000 J/kg across much of the region by the late afternoon hours with effective bulk shear in the 40-50 knot range. Of note, 0-1km shear magnitudes across much of the region trended upwards of 30 knots, which allowed for ample low-level spin within thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. As the cold front began to move eastward across central Pennsylvania, a line of thunderstorms pushed across the region with many kinks in the line exhibiting tornadic circulations. Ahead of the line, some thunderstorms began to form where clear skies allowed for destabilization with some cells exhibiting supercellular characteristics. Wind damage was first observed during the early evening hours, where multiple trees and wires were down across western Pennsylvania. Damage continued as thunderstorms moved further east throughout the evening hours. In terms of cells ahead of the line, wind damage was mostly concentrated across Franklin, York, and Lancaster Counties. Four tornadoes occurred with the storm system on June 14th; an EF-1 near Grand Valley in Warren County, an EF-0 near Homer Township in Potter County, an EF-1 near Pine Glen in Centre County, and an EF-1 near Kirkwood in Lancaster County. A microburst also occurred in York County, where widespread tree damage was observed near Brogue.