Detailed report released about July 29 tornado outbreak between Pennsylvania and New Jersey
The most powerful of the nine tornadoes was more than 500 yards wide and had a path more than three miles long.
BENSALEM, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The National Weather Service has released detailed findings from the July 29 tornado outbreak, which spawned a total of nine twisters across Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley; Philadelphia and its suburbs; and into New Jersey.
Investigators from the weather services' Mount Holly office released more information about the size and strength of each tornado, along with descriptions of the damage they found.
The confirmed tornadoes were located in:
- Bensalem/Trevose/Somerton section of Philadelphia
- New Hope, Pa. to Hopewell Twp., NJ
- High Bar Harbor, NJ
- Woodland Twp., NJ to Wells Mills, NJ
- Windsor, NJ to Robbinsville, NJ
- Plumstead Twp., Pa.
- Kempton, Pa. to Weisenberg Twp., Pa.
- Slatington, Pa.
- Bustleton section of Philadelphia
Details from the National Weather Service in Mount Holly:
EF-3 Tornado: Bensalem, Pa./Trevose, Pa./Somerton (Philadelphia)
Location:
-Bensalem, Pa. (Bucks County)
-Trevose, Pa. (Bucks County)
-Northeast Philadelphia (Somerton section)
Start Time: 7:04 p.m.
End Time: 7:12 p.m.
Maximum wind speeds: 140 mph
Path Length: 3.5 miles
Maximum path width: 530 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
The Somerton-Trevose-Bensalem tornado began in the Somerton section of Philadelphia near Southampton Road, Kelvin Avenue, and Trevose Road where it uprooted and blew down large limbs from a few softwood and hardwood trees.
The tornado crossed County Line Road into Trevose in Bucks County where a large tree was uprooted. The tornado continued between Trevose Road and Peyton Street where additional tree damage occurred before crossing Lukens Street.
The tornado then very briefly crossed back into Philadelphia County at the northern tip of Poquessing Valley Park where a few trees were uprooted.
The tornado then crossed back into Trevose in Bucks County where it caused some minor cosmetic damage to some homes in the Beechwood Estates neighborhood and blew down several sections of vinyl fencing. Several small trees were also snapped or uprooted in and just south and east of the residential neighborhood.
As the tornado approached Somerton Road, it began intensifying and widening substantially as it moved into the Metropolitan Industrial Center.
Tornado strikes several businesses
Numerous softwood and hardwood trees were snapped or uprooted in the SUEZ Water Company property southwest of and along Somerton Road. Five wooden power poles were snapped near the ground along Somerton Road as well at the northern end of the SUEZ property.
All seven warehouse buildings in the industrial complex northeast of Somerton Road sustained at least minor damage, with the most significant occurring to the Northtec building. Numerous roof-mounted HVAC units were shifted or blown off of a few of the buildings in the industrial complex.
Open bay doors in the westernmost building caused a non-load-bearing interior wall to collapse. A sedan was lifted and flipped over in the Northtec parking lot and a steel flag pole bearing a flag flattened completely to the ground.
The Northtec building sustained substantial structural damage where large sections of roofing material were removed. Additionally, numerous exterior paneling was blown off, garage bay doors were blown out, a few windows were blown out, and at least two large HVAC units were blown off of the building.
Numerous softwood and hardwood trees were uprooted or snapped in the industrial complex and immediately adjacent areas.
Southeast of the industrial complex, minor cosmetic damage occurred to some homes along Carter Road in a residential neighborhood. Tree damage associated with the tornado occurred along Carter Road and Sussex Road north of Buckfield Terrace.
Pa. Turnpike takes a hit
Destruction at Faulkner car dealerships
Mobile home park hit by twister
Tornado hits shopping center, starts to weaken
At this stage, the tornado damage path narrowed considerably and intensity weakened significantly as it crossed Old Lincoln Highway and moved toward the Lowes and Walmart shopping centers on Route 1.
The tornado passed over these shopping centers, but no structural damage was noted to these structures. Numerous small trees were snapped and uprooted in the large parking lot area and line of trees just north of the Bensalem turnpike interchange.
Some exit ramp signs were blown down in the interchange area.
The tornado damage became somewhat discontinuous as it continued east-southeast into Bensalem across Route 1 and toward a residential neighborhood. Several homes in the neighborhood sustained loss of some roofing material and other cosmetic damage in addition to some tree damage.
The tornado continued across Rockhill Road and along Richlieu Road toward the Christian Life Center where several trees were snapped or uprooted. The church's steeple had some paneling blown off, but the steeple itself was not damaged otherwise.
The tornado continued weakening as it crossed Galloway Road then dissipated in the Bensalem Township Community Park where some minor tree damage occurred.
No known serious injuries or fatalities occurred from this tornado.
EF-2 Tornado: New Hope, Pa. to Hopewell Twp., NJ
Location:
New Hope, Pa. (Bucks County)
Hopewell Twp., N.J. (Mercer County)
Start Time: 5:59 p.m.
End Time: 6:14 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 120 mph
Path length: 6.4 miles
Maximum path width: 400 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
EF-2 Tornado: High Bar Harbor, NJ
Location:
Barnegat Twp., NJ (Ocean Co.)
Bar Harbor, NJ (Ocean Co.)
Start Time: 9:03 p.m.
End Time: 9:13 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 120 mph
Path length: 4.2 miles
Maximum path width: 75 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
The same supercell which produced a tornado in the New Jersey Pine Barrens cycled and produced another tornado in far eastern Ocean County. The tornado touched down near the immediate western shore of Barnegat Bay. At least one building near Bay Beach off Bayshore Drive sustained roofing damage.
The tornado then moved over Barnegat Bay as a waterspout. It came ashore in the area of High Bar Harbor in Long Beach Twp.
Roof ripped off home, boat flipped over
The most severe damage was noted to a house on the corner of Antioch Rd. and Arnold Blvd. This house was facing west-southwest, and had its entire roof structure lifted off and tossed one to two houses to the east.
The house walls remained standing but most of the doors and windows on the east and west sides of the house were completely blown out, with significant damage to the inside of the house.
A two-by-four from an adjacent house impaled the wall on the west side of the house. Eight people were in the house at the time the tornado hit, but they were able to take shelter in an interior closet, with only minor injuries sustained.
In addition, on the north side of the house, a car in the driveway was pushed sideways several feet and their boat flipped into their neighbors boat. The boats trailer was tossed about 50 feet into a house just to the east.
The degree and orientation of damage was consistent with tornadic winds of 115 to 120 mph, which is EF2 intensity.
More homes hit
Continuing east-northeast, about a dozen homes on the south side of Arnold Blvd sustained significant uplift of roof material, siding damage or removal, collapse of porch, patio, and sunroom structures, and blown out windows.
Several large trees were uprooted and lay pointing to the east-northeast, as well as downed power poles.
The tornado moved east or slightly north of east from Arnold Blvd, over an open salt marsh, before intersecting a few houses on the corner of Collier Rd and Sunset Blvd.
The most significant damage was to a house on the northwest corner of Collier and Sunset, which sustained siding damage, partial roof removal, blowout of the storm surge walls on the basement level of the elevated structure, and a large tree uprooted and laying to the east northeast.
Power poles and large trees were downed on Sunset Blvd, adjacent to the High Bar Harbor Yacht Club. There was damage to several boats in the yacht club marina, but this was mainly due to lofted debris being tossed into the marina.
The circulation then moved into the cove east of the marina. However, no further significant damage was noted on the east side of the cover in Barnegat Light, indicating the tornado had likely lifted. This is corroborated by radar data which showed a weakening of the circulation and a likely dissipation before it
crossed into the open Atlantic.
EF-1 Tornado: Woodland Twp., NJ to Wells Mills, NJ
Location:
Woodland Twp., NJ (Burlington Co.)
Wells Mills, NJ (Ocean Co.)
Start Time: 8:42 p.m.
End Time: 8:51 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 105 mph
Path length: 6.6 miles
Maximum path width: 250 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
A tornado touched down on the evening of July 29 in a heavily forested area in the eastern portion of Woodland Twp in southern New Jersey. The start location is estimated to be between Stevenson Rd, where survey crews found no damage, and Whiting Rd about a mile and a half away, where tree damage was observed.
The estimate, also aided by radar, places the start just west of the border of Burlington and Ocean counties. After touching down, the tornado moved in an east-northeasterly direction. The bulk of the damage consisted of large snapped and uprooted pine and spruce trees with a few red maple trees.
The orientation of the damage combined with radar signatures clearly indicated the damage was produced by a tornado. Some of the heaviest damage occurred on Old Cedar Bridge Rd near the Cedar Bridge Tavern Historic Site.
The tornado crossed Route 72 before moving through over a mile of inaccessible forest land. Tree damage was found again along Jones Rd. From there the tornado moved into the Wells Mills area where the path of tree damage continued.
A number of snapped trees and large limbs were found in the area of Wells Mills County Park. The tornado path appeared to end a few hundred yards east of this location.
The degree of tree damage along the middle portion of the track was consistent with a higher end EF1 tornado.
EF-1 Tornado: Windsor, NJ to Robbinsville, NJ
Location:
Windsor, NJ (Mercer Co.)
Robbinsville NJ (Mercer Co.)
Start Time: 6:56 p.m.
End Time: 7:05 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 105 mph
Path length: 1.6 miles
Maximum path width: 100 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
The Windsor-Robbinsville Township tornado began on Route 130 just south of the town of Windsor near the Assunpink Creek.
A few hardwood trees were uprooted along the highway near the Chestnut Montessori. The building lost a portion of its roofing material and several other hardwood trees were uprooted or snapped just behind the property into a small wooded area.
The tornado then continued in a somewhat transient and weak manner through a series of fields and tree lines. A few large tree branches were snapped off near a farm home on Windsor Road and a hardwood tree in a tree line was uprooted across the street.
The sporadic tree damage continued along Perrineville Road where a large section of a tree was snapped off at another residence. The tornado then produced an area of intense convergent tree damage near the intersection of Perrineville Road and Voelbel Road where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted.
The tornado ended just downstream from this intersection at a residence on Perrineville Road where a final tree was uprooted.
EF-1 Tornado: Plumstead Twp., Pa.
Location:
Plumstead Twp., Pa. (Bucks County)
Start Time: 5:40 p.m.
End Time: 5:45 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 90 mph
Path length: 2.6 miles
Maximum path width: 70 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
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 Maximucks 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.
EF-1 Tornado: Kempton, Pa. to Weisenberg Twp., Pa.
Location:
Kempton, Pa. (Berks Co.)
Weisenberg Twp., Pa. (Lehigh Co.)
Start Time: 4:04 p.m.
End Time: 4:09 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 90 mph
Path length: 2.8 miles
Maximum path width: 90 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
A tornado touched down near Turkey Rd in Kempton, Albany Twp, Berks County, PA, just west of the border with Lehigh County.
About 15 trees were uprooted in the area of Turkey Rd with a convergent damage pattern noted in multiple nearby corn fields. The path continued to between Kunkels Mill Rd and Red Rd near the far southern tip of Lynn Twp in Lehigh County.
Mostly minor crop and tree damage was observed in this area, but with a continued clear convergent pattern. A resident on Red Rd filmed the tornado as it passed to his south.
The tornado passed through an open field before crossing Rhoads Rd, where tree and minor roofing damage were sustained. East of Rhoads Rd, a number of trees were snapped and uprooted as the tornado approached New Smithville Rd.
The tornado crossed Golden Key Rd, uprooting a few more trees, before dissipating in a field prior to reaching Loch Valley Rd in Weisenberg Twp.
The extent of tree damage both near the start of the path in Kempton and in the New Smithville Rd area merited an EF1 rating.
EF-0 Tornado: Slatington, Pa.
Location:Slatington, Pa. (Lehigh Co.)
Start Time: 4:27 p.m.
End Time: 4:29 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 85 mph
Path length: 0.6 miles
Maximum path width: 75 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
A tornado touched down on the grounds of Northern Lehigh High School in Slatington. Several trees were snapped or uprooted at the high school, with most of the snapping occurring high up in
the trees.
A wooden dugout on the school's baseball field lost its roof, and some unanchored metal bleachers were tossed. Damage wasmostly blown in a similar west to east direction, but there was
some evidence of convergence especially in tree damage in the area.
The path continued almost straight west to east from the high school to the Slatington Airport. An airplane hangar door was blown out, and there was tree damage on the airport property.
Damage became more unidirectional near the airport as the circulation likely gusted out.
Little if any damage occurred east of the airport property, and that is where the tornado path is estimated to have ended.
EF-0 Tornado: Bustleton section of Philadelphia
Location:
Northeast Philadelphia (Bustleton section)
Start Time: 7:07 p.m.
End Time: 7:08 p.m.
Maximum wind speed: 80 mph
Path length: 0.46 miles
Maximum path width: 40 yards
Findings from the National Weather Service:
A brief tornado occurred in the Bustleton section of Northeast Philadelphia. Damage was first observed near Grant Ave at the Grant Gardens apartment complex, where some minor loss of roofing material was noted and debris was tossed in a chaotic manner consistent with tornadic winds.
The tornado moved east-southeast across Roosevelt Blvd. Continued minor structural damage was noted along a narrow path, mainly consisting of sporadic losses of siding and insulation. Minor tree damage was also noted.
One building also had ceiling tiles pulled downward with insulation removed in a car park area, a strong indicator of tornadic pressure gradient forces.
Near Blue Glass Rd, a couple of slightly larger trees had their trunks snapped, and winds of around 80 mph likely occurred in that area. The damage path ended near there, however, after a track length of only around half a mile.
Radar data indicates this was an anticyclonic tornado.
Note: An anticyclonic tornado means that it was rotating in a clockwise direction. In the Northern Hemisphere, nearly all of the tornadoes that occur rotate in a counter-clockwise ("cyclonic") direction and estimates indicate that maybe only 1% of tornadoes are anticyclonic, according to weather.gov.
