Bucks County mobile home park struck by EF-3 tornado: "I just saw debris"

"I just saw the debris. It was just flying everywhere, and he's screaming at me like 'run, run, run!"
Friday, July 30, 2021
TREVOSE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Ring video shows the powerful EF-3 tornado that tore through part of Bucks County on Thursday evening.

Theresa Knapp's camera showed the storm ripping through the Penn Valley mobile home park in Trevose, Pa.

The aluminum siding was torn from her porch, and what appears to be a funnel cloud can be seen just to the right of the screen.

The tornado had wind speeds up to 140 mph, the National Weather Service said on Friday.

WATCH: Tornado damage across Philadelphia region
Tornado damage across Philadelphia region


"To see all these trees missing and to think, 'my house got spared?'" Knapp said.

Fortunately, Knapp wasn't at home, but instead was around the corner from her husband's job at the volunteer fire dept.

"I just saw the debris. It was just flying everywhere, and he's screaming at me like 'run, run, run' and we just ran into the building," she said.

The nearby Faulkner car dealership bore the brunt of the storm.

RELATED: Video shows Faulkner car dealership being hit by tornado
Video shows Faulkner car dealership being hit by tornado in Trevose, Pa.


The tornado flipped cars, uprooted utility boxes, bent metal light poles and sent them crashing onto dealership vehicles.

The view from Chopper 6 showing the back buildings of the Buick dealership heavily damaged.

Chopper 6: Tornado damage in Trevose, Bucks County


Debris from the Pa. Turnpike even landed in nearby neighborhoods.

Kelly Washington was one of many still without power as the clean-up continues.

"I look at this and I think... I'm grateful to be alive," she said.

Action News Meteorologist Karen Rogers explains, typically, tornadoes in our area are not on the ground long enough to collect enough debris that they can be spotted on radar. However, three such tornadoes occurred on Thursday in our area.

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.