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F3 tornado in Potter County, Pennsylvania

Tornado July 21, 2003 · Potter County, Pennsylvania

F3
Rating
2.5 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
$200K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A team from the National Weather Service office in State College surveyed damage and interviewed residents and emergency management officials in Potter county. The team determined that an F3 tornado touched down in Potter county around 4:00 pm Monday July 21 2003. The tornado first touched down about 2 miles southwest of the town of Ellisburg...where it downed hundreds of trees. The tornado continued to the northeast...where it hit the Smoker Farm. The barn and house were completely destroyed...and one of three silos was tipped over. A second home on Smoker Road was also extensively damaged and is uninhabitable. In addition...a car was picked up and thrown 600 yards. A farm tractor was lifted into the trees. The tornado path was 2 1/2 miles long...while the width was about 200 yards. Based on the damage...the tornado was mainly an F2...but rated as a weak F3 at its peak with winds of 160 mph. There were two injuries, but no deaths.

Began near Ellisburg (41.9167, -77.9333).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5367628. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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