EF1 tornado in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Tree damage began in the area of Bradshaw Rd in Plumstead Twp in

Bucks County, where a few sizable limbs were downed and a couple

of larger but weakened trees were snapped. The tornado then

entered a cornfield near the intersection of Ferry Rd and Point

Pleasant Pike. Some degree of convergence was noted in a narrow

path of downed corn, though it was not overly strong. In addition,

some trees adjacent to and southeast of the cornfield were also

damaged. The damage became more substantial with a clearer

rotation signature observed in the area of Ridgeview Dr, where a

number of trees were snapped, favoring higher elevation areas

along a ridge line. The snapping and shearing of trees in that

area and the nature of the debris field strongly indicated

tornadic damage, with the magnitude of damage meriting an EF1

rating. The tornado continued southeastward through Carversville

Rd and to the area of Long Ln in Buckingham Twp. Several

residences along and near Long Ln sustained tree damage. The

tornado impacted Maximuck's Farm Market on Long Ln, where

greenhouses sustained roof damage and some uplift of their frames.

Some convergence was also noted in crop fields on the property.

Just southeast of the greenhouses, a barn on the property was

heavily damaged with a partial collapse of its walls. However,

just beyond the barn, a large stretch of cornfields and a tree

line beyond the cornfields were left untouched, indicating the

tornado lifted near the damaged barn.

A strong shortwave trough moved east-southeastward out of the Great Lakes region on July 29. An associated, strengthening surface low also tracked out of the Great Lakes and into upstate New York. A warm front associated with this low moved through most of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania during the late morning and early afternoon hours. This front, combined with the remains of widespread convection to the west from the previous overnight and morning hours, brought significant cloud cover to the eastern mid-Atlantic for much of the day on the 29th. This was mainly in the form of mid and high level cloud cover, however, and temperatures still warmed to near seasonal levels behind the warm front, allowing moderate to strong instability to build. Meanwhile, the robust surface and upper level disturbances approaching the region brought both strong forcing and unseasonably strong wind shear. By mid-afternoon, an unusually favorable convective environment existed over eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The result of this environment was a rare tornado outbreak across the area. Initially, during the mid-afternoon hours, mixed convective modes over east-central Pennsylvania produced a couple instances of damaging wind and brief tornadoes as storms attempted to overcome cloud cover and some light stratiform rain in the area. With time, as storms moved into better instability and a less contaminated environment over far eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, they took on more supercellular structures. Multiple cyclic supercells would go on to produce several tornadoes, three of them strong (EF2+) over eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Convection persisted past the sunset hour with little to no loss in intensity due to the strong forcing. The only thing that put an end to the outbreak was the coastline, as storms moved offshore towards 9 to 10PM local time. Even offshore, one supercell continued to exhibit strong rotation and likely produced a strong waterspout for tens of miles over the Atlantic.

Fortunately, and miraculously, no serious injuries or loss of life occurred as a result of this outbreak. With the passage of a cold front late on the evening of the 29th, cooler, drier, and much less active weather would grace the region for several days as clean-up efforts began.