Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania · 2017
EF0 tornado, Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, June 19, 2017
This EF0 tornado ran 2.1 miles across Berks County on June 19, 2017, touching down at 2:36 PM EDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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.
The record
- Rating
- EF0
- Date
- June 19, 2017
- Touchdown
- 2:36 PM EDT (18:36 UTC)
- Lifted
- 2:38 PM EDT (18:38 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 2.1 miles (3.4 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Berks County
- Touchdown point
- 40.510, -76.130
- Lift-off point
- 40.540, -76.110
- Record number
- 1706191236-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A complex of thunderstorms came through the region during the evening producing high winds and heavy rain. Wind damage occurred in several locations from the thunderstorms.
A storm survey found a damage path of trees that were located on|private property behind Mountain Springs Campground on the |southern slope of Blue Mountain. The most concentrated damage |consisted of several large hardwood trees that were uprooted and |snapped at a private residence off of nearby Mountain Road. The |direction of the felled trees exhibited a rotational pattern |consistent with tornadic damage. ||Geo-located damage photos from a trained storm spotter was used to|help estimate the beginning location of the tornado since the|NWS storm surveyor were unable to access the property. The|trained spotter observed tree damage just north of Interstate 78|adjacent near Campsite Road, Northkill Road and Forge Dam Road.||Additional video evidence of the tornado that was posted |on the Mount Holly, NJ Facebook page help confirm the tornado and |the general storm motion.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 15:15 UTC and running to 20:11 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:15 UTC | 20:11 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | PHI |
| 16:00 UTC | 22:22 UTC | Flash Flood Watch | PHI |
| 17:29 UTC | 21:30 UTC | Flood Advisory | PHI |
| 18:08 UTC | 19:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 18:49 UTC | 19:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 19:08 UTC | 19:38 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 19:35 UTC | 22:30 UTC | Flood Advisory | PHI |
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 forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:27 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 air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), 12:00Z
6.6 hours before the tornado, 207 km from the path. June 19, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 448 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -97 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 662 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1049 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 17 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 82 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.9 K/km
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), 00:00Z
5.4 hours after it, 207 km from the path. June 20, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 66 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -41 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 309 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 874 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -48 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.6 K/km
The surface observations
Reading/Spaatz Field (RDG), 21 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:40 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1008.5 | ||||
| 16:45 UTC | 190° 12 kt | 1008.5 | ||||
| 16:50 UTC | 180° 11 kt | 1008.1 | ||||
| 16:54 UTC | 86 | 73 | 180° 15 kt | 23 | 1008.1 | |
| 16:55 UTC | 180° 16 kt | 21 | 1008.1 | |||
| 17:00 UTC | 170° 16 kt | 1008.1 | ||||
| 17:03 UTC | 84 | 73 | 180° 11 kt | 23 | 1007.8 | VCTS |
| 17:05 UTC | 190° 11 kt | 1007.8 | ||||
| 17:10 UTC | 83 | 74 | 180° 11 kt | 1007.8 | -TSRA | |
| 17:15 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1007.5 | -RA | |||
| 17:20 UTC | 210° 13 kt | 1008.1 | -RA | |||
| 17:25 UTC | 240° 9 kt | 1008.1 | ||||
| 17:30 UTC | 260° 4 kt | 1007.8 | ||||
| 17:35 UTC | 180° 13 kt | 1007.5 | ||||
| 17:37 UTC | 86 | 74 | 190° 15 kt | 21 | 1007.5 | VCTS |
| 17:40 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 1007.5 | ||||
| 17:45 UTC | 180° 14 kt | 1007.5 | ||||
| 17:51 UTC | 87.8 | 73.4 | 190° 16 kt | 28 | 1007.5 | |
| 17:54 UTC | 88 | 73 | 190° 19 kt | 29 | 1007.5 | |
| 18:45 UTC | 85 | 73 | 230° 18 kt | 27 | 1008.5 | VCTS |
| 18:52 UTC | 75.2 | 69.8 | 250° 25 kt | 36 | 1009.5 | -TSRA |
| 18:54 UTC | 72 | 69 | 270° 23 kt | 36 | 1009.5 | -TSRA BR |
| 18:56 UTC | 71 | 69 | 260° 29 kt | 48 | 1009.1 | +TSRA FG |
| 19:06 UTC | 70 | 69 | 250° 11 kt | 22 | 1009.1 | -TSRA BR |
| 19:08 UTC | 70 | 69 | 250° 8 kt | 1009.1 | -TSRA BR | |
| 19:15 UTC | 70 | 69 | 230° 6 kt | 1009.1 | +TSRA BR | |
| 19:40 UTC | 71 | 69 | 190° 6 kt | 1008.8 | VCTS -RA | |
| 19:54 UTC | 71 | 70 | 230° 5 kt | 1009.1 | ||
| 20:25 UTC | 71 | 69 | 200° 5 kt | 1009.8 | VCTS -RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 159 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:37 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.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 4 S Elizabethville | Dauphin, PA | BASEMENT WALL COLLAPSED DUE TO HEAVY RAIN |
| 17:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 W Lancaster | Lancaster, PA | TREES AND WIRES DOWN IN WARRINGTON TOWNSHIP |
| 17:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Middletown | Dauphin, PA | TREES AND WIRES DOWN ON RTE 283 WESTBOUND AT MM 10.2 |
| 17:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ese Hummelstown | Dauphin, PA | TREES AND WIIRES DOWN AT INTERSECTION OF HILLTOP AND SAND HILL ROADS |
| 17:53 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oakmont | Dauphin, PA | TREES AND WIRES DOWN |
| 18:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Ringtown | Schuylkill, PA | TREES DOWN |
| 18:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 W Cleona | Lebanon, PA | TREES DOWN ON CARS |
| 18:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Port Carbon | Schuylkill, PA | TREES DOWN |
| 18:23 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Lebanon | Lebanon, PA | TREES DOWN |
| 18:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Annville | Lebanon, PA | MULTIPLE TREES DOWN ALONG ROUTE 422 BETWEEN LEBANON AND PALMYRA |
| 18:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Ephrata | Lancaster, PA | TREE DOWN ON A HOUSE IN EPHRATA |
| 18:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Strausstown | Berks, PA | SEVERAL TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. |
| 18:36 UTC | TORNADO | 2 W Shartlesville | Berks, PA | EF-0 TORNADO WITH ESTIMATED 2.1 MILE LONG PATH ALONG SOUTHERN SLOPE OF BLUE MOUNTAIN |
| 18:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Colebrook | Lebanon, PA | TREES AND WIRES DOWN ON MINE ROAD AND RTE 241 INTERSECTION |
| 18:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mount Gretna | Lebanon, PA | TREES AND LARGE LIMBS DOWN ON TIMBER AND HILLCREST |
| 18:56 UTC | TSTM WND GST 55 | Reading Regional Airpor | Berks, PA | |
| 19:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Lyon Valley | Lehigh, PA | TREE AND BUILDING DAMAGE AT THE INTERSECTION OF ROUTE 100 AND LYON VALLEY ROAD |
| 19:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Topton | Berks, PA | TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. |
| 19:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Lyon Valley | Lehigh, PA | WRECKED PATIO FURNITURE AND METAL FLASHING TORN FROM A ROOF ON CARPET ROAD |
| 19:17 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Claussville | Lehigh, PA | TREE AND BUILDING DAMAGE AT INTERSECTION OF ROUTE 100 AND KEARNSVILLE ROAD |
| 19:18 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Franklin Twp | Carbon, PA | TREES DOWN AT ROUTE 209 AND CANAL STREET INTERSECTION. |
| 19:18 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Schnecksville | Lehigh, PA | DOWNED TREES AND WIRES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. |
| 19:39 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Perkiomenville | Montgomery, PA | TWO FT DIAMETER TREES AND WIRES DOWN ON SNYDER AND HAUCK ROAD |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in PennsylvaniaEvery tornado in Pennsylvania since 1950Warnings in force in Pennsylvania nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 19, 2017
5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
What this means
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.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.