EF2 Tornado — Westmoreland, Pennsylvania

2011-03-23 · near Rillton, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

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.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.2800, -79.7400)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 292990. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.