EF2 tornado in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Tornado March 23, 2011 · Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

EF2

Rating

9.0 mi

Path length

300 yd

Path width

$4.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The National Weather Service survey team confirmed a tornado in hempfield township in Westmoreland county. The tornado initially touched down in the Sewickley township area/Rillton section and then moved along route 136 in Hempfield township. There were numerous single family homes damaged in the Rillton area with some having homes having their entire rooves removed. In addition, one home lost an exterior wall. Numerous trees were uprooted in the area as well. Damage was then observed near the Hempfield bus garage with damage to multiple structures. Near this location was when the path width was the largest. Moving farther east, the Hempfield Senior Highschool scoreboard was knocked down and several light posts were snapped. Track and field equipment was displaced several hundred yards from their original locations. Extensive damage was done to the entry way to the football stadium at the high school. In the Fort Allen area, several homes sustained roof damage. One home in the area lost an exterior wall and saw its roofs displaced several hundred yards.

The wider storm

As a low pressure system tracked along a warm front across Ohio and Pennsylvania severe thunderstorms developed just south of the front in Ohio and progressed eastward. Large hail was reported with many of the storms, with hail up to the size of golf balls reported in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. A strong supercell thunderstorm produced an EF-2 tornado that crossed through Westmoreland county in Pennsylvania during rush hour. Around 90 homes sustained damage in Westmoreland county.

Began near Rillton (40.2800, -79.7400).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 292990. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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