EF1 tornado in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

Tornado October 16, 2021 · Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

EF1

Rating

1.2 mi

Whole path

260 yd

Path width

Injury

$170K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Elk County → Jefferson County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 260 yards (0.15 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 in Pittsburgh conducted a tornado survey along the Clarion River that straddles Jefferson and Elk County.

A weak EF0 tornado moved north northeast shortly after daybreak on Saturday October 16th. This resulted in damage to softwood and hardwood trees along the Jefferson County side of the Clarion River along State Route 949. More significant damage (EF1) was observed on the Elk County side, along River Road. The tornado lifted just prior to reaching Bridge Road. Estimated Maximum Wind Speed...85 mph.

Estimated cost of damage was provided by the county emergency manager.

The wider storm

A lone supercell, that advanced along a cold front, formed in the early morning hours of October 16th. This cell had a history of tornadoes before tracking into eastern Ohio and western PA. The supercell was located near a mesoscale low and/or mesoscale vortex, which supported locally enhanced helicity. Furthermore, this cell was in an area of relatively stronger low-level instability. Surface dew points were favorable, low/mid 60s, prior to touch down and there were backed surface winds.

Began near Sigel (41.3500, -79.0500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Beaver County EF0 Beaver County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 987670. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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