Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania · 2026

EF1 tornado, Centre County, Pennsylvania, July 18, 2026

This EF1 tornado ran 1.0 miles across Centre County on July 18, 2026, touching down at 4:33 PM EDT and reaching 250 yards wide. It killed nobody.

Preliminary. This is NWS CTP's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Burnside Township Tornado. The rating, the path and the casualties are the survey's and can change while it is revised. The Storm Prediction Center compiles the official record of 2026 from these surveys and publishes it in the spring of 2027; this page moves to that tornado's permanent address when it does.

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 survey

Rating, as surveyed
EF1, preliminary
Date
July 18, 2026
Touchdown
4:33 PM EDT (20:33 UTC)
Lifted
4:35 PM EDT (20:35 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
1.0 miles (1.7 km)
Path width
250 yards (229 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Centre County
Touchdown point
41.151, -77.862
Lift-off point
41.145, -77.845
Highest wind the damage implies
110 mph
Surveyed by
NWS CTP
The office's name for it
Burnside Township Tornado
Survey last edited
September 18, 2026
Record number
None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

What the survey found

At approximately 4:33 PM EDT on July 18, 2026, a supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado in northern Centre County just east of Eddy Ridge Road near State Line Road. The tornado produced multiple areas of concentrated tree damage over the next 2 minutes as it travelled southeastward for just over a mile in a heavily wooded area. Approximately 200 trees were downed or snapped. We would like to thank the PA Bureau of Forestry for their help with this survey.

Written by NWS CTP in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

The damage survey

4 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 110 mph.

  • Approximately 150 trees snapped or uprooted in a concentrated area within the forest.

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

The warnings

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.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 17:03 UTC and running to 01:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
13:21 UTC00:56 UTCFlood WatchCTP
17:03 UTC01:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchCTP
19:42 UTC20:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTP
20:29 UTC21:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTP
21:00 UTC21:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTP
22:26 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTP
00:16 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningCTP

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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:51 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

8.6 hours before the tornado, 206 km from the path. July 18, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2026-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 510 joules per kilogram, CIN -51, lifted condensation level 790 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2026-07-18The 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 139 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 31 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
510 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-51 J/kg
Surface CAPE
93 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
790 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
139 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), 00:00Z

3.4 hours after it, 206 km from the path. July 19, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2026-07-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2105 joules per kilogram, CIN -22, lifted condensation level 932 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2026-07-19The 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 250 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 28 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
2105 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3928 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
932 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
250 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
267 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.3
Supercell composite
18.9
0-3 km lapse rate
6.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

State College (UNV), 33 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
18:53 UTC7773.4220° 7 kt1009.5FU
19:53 UTC80.675.2200° 9 kt1008.8FU
20:53 UTC78.873.4220° 9 kt151008.5
21:53 UTC80.673.4210° 6 kt1007.5

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

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:35 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.

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
19:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 N BenezetteElk, PATrees down on wires on Little Dents Road.
20:33 UTCTORNADO8 Sse KeatingCentre, PAEF-1 tornado with est max wind 110 mph on the ground for 2 min uprooting or snapping approx 200 trees. Path width 250 yds, length 1.04 mi.
21:04 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Wnw Glen UnionClinton, PATree down on the 5900 block of Renovo Road.
21:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wsw ForceClearfield, PATree damage reported north of Penfield.
21:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene CarrollClinton, PATrees down by Fourth Gap Road. Time estimated by radar.
21:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene CarrollClinton, PATrees down on wires blocking roadway, by Fourth Gap Road. Time estimated by radar.
23:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne PenfieldClearfield, PATrees down on wires along Doctors Lane.
23:12 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Wnw Glen UnionClinton, PATrees down on wires along Route 120 and Zimmerman Lane.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 N Lock HavenClinton, PATrees down on wires along Havenview Road.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in PennsylvaniaEvery tornado in Pennsylvania since 1950Warnings in force in Pennsylvania nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of July 18, 2026

17 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 183:54 PM EDTEF1Clarion, PA1.50
July 184:44 PM EDTEF0Jefferson, PA0.275
July 184:51 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA0.60
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:08 PM EDTEF0Westmoreland, PA1.70
July 185:38 PM EDTEF2Somerset, PA0.7100
July 186:12 PM EDTEF1Broome, NY15.7300
July 186:30 PM EDTEF0Dorchester, MD0.40
July 188:16 PM EDTEF1Clearfield, PA1.1400
July 188:29 PM EDTEF0Blair, PA0.4150
July 188:43 PM EDTEF2Huntingdon, PA0.5500

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

Sources

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.