Three tornadoes confirmed across Butler County and Lawrence County in Western Pennsylvania
Three tornadoes touched down in Western Pennsylvania during Tuesday’s strong storms, the National Weather Service says.
Storm surveys on Wednesday confirmed two tornadoes in Butler County and one in Lawrence County. All three were rated EF0 in intensity.
TORNADO #1
The first tornado, with an estimated top wind speed of 80 mph, hit the Villa Maria area of Lawrence County. Here is a summary from the NWS:
“A small supercell developed in Mahoning County, Ohio, and tracked across the Pennsylvania state line into northwestern Lawrence County. Cycling several times, the supercell produced its first of three tornadoes in our area just north of Villa Maria. There, along Evergreen Road, a narrow, short swath of tree damage was noted starting with snapped large branches on the west side of Evergreen Road. As the tornado tracked southeast, part of the roof of a home was removed on the east side of Evergreen Road, along with some softwood trees uprooted on Coffee Run Road just off of Evergreen Road. No further damage was found downstream of Coffee Run Road, and radar indications suggest that the tornado occluded at this point as a new mid-level mesocyclone began to develop, further supporting the end of the track at this point.”
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TORNADO #2
Another tornado caused tree damage in the Portersville area of Butler County, with peak winds estimated at 61 mph. Here is a summary from the NWS:
“The same supercell, following several failed tornadogenesis attempts, was successful again and produced another brief, weak tornado this time into Butler County. A video was received of a clear tornado tracking through a field on Bauder School Road east of Route 19. Drone footage confirmed that track with evidence of a narrow vortex within the vegetation in that field. The tornado then crossed over Bauder School Road where it did very minimal, but notable, tree damage to the beginning of an area of woods. The tornado then occluded and lifted once again with no further downstream damage noted either by road network or with drone footage. NWS Pittsburgh thanks the public and media for their assistance with this survey.”
TORNADO #3
The strongest tornado, with top wind speeds of about 85 mph, was near Whitestown in the Prospect area of Butler County. Here is a summary from the NWS:
“A third, and final, tornado from the persistent supercell then developed southeast of Portersville and east of Interstate 79 along Yellow Creek Road. The tornado touched down at the end of a patch of woods on the west side of Yellow Creek Road resulting in large branches breaking and a large tree nearly entirely uprooted but still hanging on to the hillside with part of the root system intact. The tornado then progressed east through an open field and crossed Yellow Creek Road. On that side, sporadic tree damage was noted on a residential property with two large healthy trees fully uprooted and one landing partially on an outbuilding. Leaf and twig debris was scattered throughout the property. No additional damage was found to the east beyond that property along Stone Church Road, through available road network was a limiting factor to evaluation within the wooded area between those two roads.”