EF1 tornado, Swengel to West Milton, Pennsylvania, July 2, 2023

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

July 2, 2023

Touchdown

3:59 PM EDT (19:59 UTC)

Lifted

4:06 PM EDT (20:06 UTC)

On the ground

7 minutes

Path length

2.1 miles (3.4 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$40,000

County

Union County

Touchdown point

40.933, -77.068

Lift-off point

40.949, -77.034

Record number

2307021359-01

22 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 105 mph.

• End of damage at barn site
• Trees snapped with many large limbs down, track shifted NE’ward
• Track observed in corn fields
• Dietrich/Johnstown Rd Intersection, flag pole snapped with small limbs down with some damage to an outer building

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

A tornado touched down in Lewis Township during the afternoon of July 2, 2023. The tornado touched down just south of Route 45 to the east of Hartelon and tracked ENE before dissipating just north of Kaiser Run Road. The rating was EF-1, path length was around 1.5 miles, and max path width was approximately 150 yards.

A tornado occurred in West Buffalo Township during the afternoon of July 2, 2023. Initial touchdown was in a field just west of Pleasant Grove Road, and the tornado tracked northeastward towards the intersection of Church Road and Clark Avenue before dissipating just south of a bend in Church Road. The tornado was rated an EF-1, with a path length of just over 2 miles and a max path width of approximately 50 yards.

A tornado occurred on the north side of Lewisburg in Union County, just south of the Kelly Township Fields. The tornado moved ENE and then NE until it dissipated just west of Milton Area High/Middle School. The tornado was rated an EF-1, with a path length of nearly 2.5 miles and a max path width of approximately 150 yards.

A tornado touched down in Lewis Township during the afternoon of July 2, 2023. The tornado touched down just south of Route 45 to the east of Harleton and tracked ENE causing damage to a well-constructed chicken coop along with uplifting a majority of a barn`s roof and spreading it throughout a nearby field. The tornado tracked just west of a residence along Pleasant Grove Road, where many large limbs were observed to be down with a healthy cherry tree snapped before continuing to move northeastward. Trees along the intersection of Kaiser Run Road and Windy Valley Lane were uprooted and snapped with a small outer building having damage lofted into a nearby field. The tornado dissipated just north of Kaiser Run Road. The rating was EF-1, path length was around 1.5 miles, and max path width was approximately 150 yards.

A tornado touched down in West Buffalo Township during the afternoon of July 2, 2023. Initial touchdown was in a field just west of Pleasant Grove Road, and the tornado tracked adjacent to Dietrich Road towards Pine Valley Trailer Park where some minor damage was observed to outer buildings. The tornado continued northeastward towards the intersection of Church Road and Clark Avenue where garage door collapsed inward and a roof was lifted off. The tornado dissipated just south of a bend in Church Road. The tornado was rated an EF-1, with a path length of just over 2 miles and a max path width of approximately 50 yards.

A tornado occurred on the north side of Lewisburg in Union County, just south of the Kelly Township Fields. The tornado moved ENE snapping trees before tipping over|an RV in a Flea Market, along with blowing away an open structure. The tornado deviated to more of a northeasterly track as it tore off the metal roof of a fireworks store, causing damage to cars parked at the business and launching pieces of the metal roof across U.S. Highway 15. More sporadic damage was then observed across U.S. Highway 15 and the Susquehanna River in western portions of Northumberland County. Several small trees were snapped off along South Drive with periodic damage observed along roads intersecting Shakespeare Avenue, with the most notable being areas of a roof being torn off of a residence at the intersection of Jordan Street and Wood Street. The tornado continued to show sporadic damage until it dissipated slightly west of Milton Area High/Middle School at 4:33 PM, where insulation continued to be observed from the Flea Market on the north side of Lewisburg. The tornado was rated an EF-1, with a path length of nearly 2.5 miles and a max path width of approximately 150 yards.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

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 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 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.

Selinsgrove (SEG), 21 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The State College radar (KCCX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:59 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 2023 tornado in PennsylvaniaEvery tornado in Pennsylvania since 1950Warnings in force in Pennsylvania nowThe forecast where you are

8 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.