EF2 tornado, Gap to South Hermitage, Pennsylvania, February 24, 2016

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 mph

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

3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

   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

EF2

Date

February 24, 2016

Touchdown

7:38 PM EST (00:38 UTC)

Lifted

7:45 PM EST (00:45 UTC)

On the ground

7 minutes

Path length

4.9 miles (7.8 km)

Path width

400 yards (366 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$8.0 million

County

Lancaster County

Touchdown point

40.010, -76.030

Lift-off point

40.068, -75.977

Record number

1602241838-01

18 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS CTP, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 125 mph.

• Large metal doors blown off and most of roof uplifted. 8x8 roof beam snapped.
• Van blown 10 ft off road to the north
• Roof blown off 2 story stone home.
• Roof completely blown off. Top of grain silo blown off.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A National Weather Service survey team confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down near the town of White Horse in Salisbury Township on the evening of Wednesday, February 24, 2016. The tornado touched down near Amish Road just west of Spring Garden Road, traveling northeastward for approximately 5 miles before lifting near a residential development on Rosehill Drive. An estimated 50 buildings sustained damage. Maximum wind speed 125 mph.

A survey team from the National Weather Service in State College confirmed an EF-2 tornado near White Horse in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County on February 24, 2016. The tornado touched down one-half mile southwest of the intersection of Amish Road and Spring Garden Road then travelled to the northeast at a speed of around 50 mph, staying on the ground for 7 minutes. An estimated 50 buildings sustained damage along the path of the tornado. Two large farm outbuildings and one two-story residence sustained major roof damage near the intersection of Amish Road and Spring Garden Road. This marked the transition of the tornado from EF-1 to EF-2. A van with several passengers travelling west on Spring Garden Road near the same intersection was blown about 10 feet to the north of the road into a field. Approximately one-half mile to the northeast along Millwood Road, additional EF-2 damage occurred as roofs were blown off several farm outbuildings, barns and one two-story residence. A pine tree located in the front yard of this house was stripped of most of its branches and foliage, with only a few larger bare limbs remaining. A wooden barn behind the residence was completely destroyed with substantial debris carried several hundred yards to the northeast across a field. Mid-to-high end EF-1 damage to roofs was noted to several farm buildings and homes along the east-west portion of Millwood Road and along Old Philadelphia Pike near School Lane Road. A significant amount of debris in the form of crumpled sheet metal from roofs was scattered across fields adjacent to Meeting House Road to the north of Old Philadelphia Pike. A second area of concentrated EF-2 damage was noted near the intersection of Seldomridge Road and Cambridge Road. The tornado knocked over several large granite tombstones in a cemetery, then stripped about one-quarter of the roof off a large building where more than 100 people were attending an auction. The final location of EF-2 damage was noted along Kauffroth Road just a few hundred yards to the north of the intersection with Seldomridge Road. It was here where a large one-room metal amish school was completely destroyed and blown about 100 yards uphill into a field. The tornado began to weaken from this point with the final EF-1 damage noted near the intersection of Gault Road and Rosehill Drive, where significant damage occurred to roofs and siding on several homes and sheds. Numerous softwood trees were also uprooted at the end of the tornado path about 100 yards to the north of Thistle drive. The tornado was rated as a high-end EF-2, with peak winds estimated at 125 mph. There were no injuries or fatalities.

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

17 minutes of warning. NWS CTP issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:21 UTC, 17 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:20 UTC and running to 01:46 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:02 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 Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:35 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 2016 tornado in PennsylvaniaEvery tornado in Pennsylvania since 1950Warnings in force in Pennsylvania nowThe forecast where you are

25 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.