EF1 tornado, Windsor to Springvale, Pennsylvania, June 12, 2011

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. EF3136 to 165 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. EF5over 200 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

EF1

Date

June 12, 2011

Touchdown

3:25 PM EDT (19:25 UTC)

Lifted

3:28 PM EDT (19:28 UTC)

On the ground

3 minutes

Path length

1.8 miles (2.8 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$10,000

County

York County

Touchdown point

39.915, -76.575

Lift-off point

39.895, -76.555

Record number

1106121325-01

Severe thunderstorms produced damage, and spawned two tornadoes during the afternoon of June 12th, 2011 in the Lower Susquehanna Region of Pennsylvania.

The National Weather Service in State College surveyed storm damage in York County and determined that an EF1 tornado touched down near Windsor during the afternoon of June 12, 2011. The weak EF1 tornado, with peak winds estimated around 90 mph, touched down in East Windsor at 1525 EDT near State Route 624 and Maryland Avenue. The storm traveled to the southeast, and lifted just east of Pleasant Grove Road near State Route 74. Six homes were affected, with trees falling near or on them. Overall, about 50 trees were damaged or uprooted. There were no injuries or fatalities.

A National Weather Service survey team and staff from the York County Emergency Management Agency concluded that an EF0 tornado, with peak winds around 75 mph, touched down briefly during the afternoon of June 12th 2011. The tornado touched down at 1530 EDT about 1/4 mile northeast of Springvale, east of Red Lion. The tornado traveled to the southeast, and lifted just south of Bahnsmill Road at 1531 EDT. Several homes were affected, with one tree down on a house. A total of about 15 trees were damaged or downed. There were no injuries or fatalities.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

9 minutes of warning. NWS CTP issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:16 UTC, 9 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:00 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 17:51 UTC and running to 20:42 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:31 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 130 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:26 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in PennsylvaniaEvery tornado in Pennsylvania since 1950Warnings in force in Pennsylvania nowThe forecast where you are

11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.