Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania · 2023

EF1 tornado, Zion, Pennsylvania, July 2, 2023

This EF1 tornado ran 0.6 miles across Centre County on July 2, 2023, touching down at 3:08 PM EDT and reaching 200 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
July 2, 2023
Touchdown
3:08 PM EDT (19:08 UTC)
Lifted
3:13 PM EDT (19:13 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
0.6 miles (1.0 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Centre County
Touchdown point
40.906, -77.665
Lift-off point
40.911, -77.655
Record number
2307021308-01

The damage survey

13 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS CTP, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 93 mph.

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

What the Weather Service recorded

A tornado occurred to the southeast of Zion on the afternoon of July 2, 2023. The tornado occurred just east of the end of Ralph's Lane and moved east-northeastward, before dissipating east of Dusty Lane. No structures were directly impacted by the tornado, as it moved through a predominantly forested area. The tornado was rated EF-1, the path length was less than one mile, and the path width was approximately 200 yards.

A tornado occurred to the southeast of Zion on the afternoon of July 2, 2023. The tornado touched down just east of the end of Ralph's Lane and moved east-northeastward, uprooting several large trees. The tornado dissipated east of Dusty Lane. No structures were directly impacted by the tornado, as it moved through a predominantly forested area. The tornado was rated EF-1, the path length was less than one mile, and the path width was approximately 200 yards.

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.

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:30 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.

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), 12:00Z

7.1 hours before the tornado, 213 km from the path. July 2, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2023-07-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 24 joules per kilogram, CIN -65, lifted condensation level 646 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2023-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 36 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 24 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
24 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-65 J/kg
Surface CAPE
63 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), 00:00Z

4.9 hours after it, 213 km from the path. July 3, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2023-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1084 joules per kilogram, CIN -4, lifted condensation level 829 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2023-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 81 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 26 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1084 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1904 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
829 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9
0-3 km lapse rate
6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:08 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
19:02 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S ZionCentre, PA50 trees down some as large as 2 feet in diameter, all laying in the same direction. There was a radar signature with a velocity couplet.
19:08 UTCTORNADO1 S ZionCentre, PANWS survey confirms an EF-1 tornado occurred southeast of Zion, damaging several large trees. Estimated max wind speed 93 mph. Length 0.62 mi. Width 200 yds.
19:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGState CollegeCentre, PAPower lines down, shed flipped over, straight line wind damage in cornfield.
19:27 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD1 Nw MillerstownPerry, PAReport of a funnel cloud for around 15s with a developed mesocyclone. Unable to determine touch down.
19:27 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD1 Nw MillerstownPerry, PAReport of a funnel cloud for around 15s with a developed mesocyclone. Unable to determine touch down.
19:43 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Ne MillerstownJuniata, PAReports of multiple wires down. Time estimated by radar.
19:43 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Ne MillerstownJuniata, PAReports of multiple wires down. Time estimated by radar.
19:48 UTCTORNADO1 E HartletonUnion, PANWS survey confirms an EF-1 tornado occurred in Lewis Township downing trees, snapping trees and causing damage to buildings. Est max wind 100mph. Length 1.51 mi. Width 150 yds.
19:59 UTCTORNADO1 Nw MifflinburgUnion, PANWS survey confirms an EF-1 tornado occurred in West Buffalo Township, compromising garage doors along with lifting portions of a roof. Est max wind speed 105 mph. Length 2.15 mi. Width 50 yds.
20:00 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD2 Nnw MifflinburgUnion, PAReports of two separate funnel cloud circulations with one along Red Bank Rd with another located near Rt 45.
20:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene VicksburgUnion, PAReports of a barn collapse. Time estimated by radar.
20:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene VicksburgUnion, PAReports of a barn collapse. Time estimated by radar.
21:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Se UnionvilleCentre, PATree down partially blocking roadway.
21:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Se UnionvilleCentre, PATree down partially blocking roadway.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in PennsylvaniaEvery tornado in Pennsylvania since 1950Warnings in force in Pennsylvania nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of July 2, 2023

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 23:44 PM EDTEF0Dauphin, PA0.950
July 23:48 PM EDTEF1Union, PA1.5150$15,000
July 23:55 PM EDTEF1Anderson, KY3.6400
July 23:59 PM EDTEF1Union, PA2.150$40,000
July 24:25 PM EDTEF1Union, PA2.4150
July 27:08 PM EDTEF0Susquehanna, PA1.7300$25,000
July 27:18 PM EDTEF0Lackawanna, PA0.270$15,000
July 27:55 PM EDTEF1Casey, KY0.140

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.