Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania · 2026

EF1 tornado, Perry County, Pennsylvania, July 5, 2026

This EF1 tornado ran 0.6 miles across Perry County on July 5, 2026, touching down at 7:14 PM EDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody.

Preliminary. This is NWS CTP's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Lamb's Gap 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 5, 2026
Touchdown
7:14 PM EDT (23:14 UTC)
Lifted
7:17 PM EDT (23:17 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
0.6 miles (0.9 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Perry County
Touchdown point
40.321, -77.001
Lift-off point
40.314, -77.006
Highest wind the damage implies
100 mph
Surveyed by
NWS CTP
The office's name for it
Lamb's Gap Tornado
Survey last edited
July 8, 2026
Record number
None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

What the survey found

The tornado path started just north of Evergreen Dr, and traveled SSW breaking off numerous trees. The most concentrated damage was along Lamb's Gap Rd near the edge of the State Game Lands. The damage seemed to end less than 50 yards to the SW of Lamb's Gap Rd. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 4 minutes. Maximum wind speed was 100 MPH.

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

The damage survey

5 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.

  • Homeowner verified general time of damage. Had a second tree fall in same direction in back of his property.
  • Evergreen Dr, back of house, verified by homeowner
  • Other trees in picture fallen different directions.
  • Several trees fallen to the southeast on west side of road.

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

The warnings

30 minutes of warning. NWS CTP issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:44 UTC, 30 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:15 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 22:45 UTC and running to 02:14 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
18:00 UTC11:00 UTCFlood WatchCTP
22:15 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTP
22:21 UTC22:45 UTCTornado WarningCTP
22:22 UTC01:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningCTP
22:44 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningCTP
22:45 UTC02:14 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchCTP
22:53 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTP
22:59 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTP
23:13 UTC23:35 UTCTornado WarningCTP
23:27 UTC00:01 UTCSevere Thunderstorm 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 Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:57 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

11.2 hours before the tornado, 156 km from the path. July 5, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2026-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 61 joules per kilogram, CIN -350, lifted condensation level 1346 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2026-07-05The 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 61 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 16 knots.1939Sfc1 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
61 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-350 J/kg
Surface CAPE
347 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1346 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
4.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), 00:00Z

0.8 hours after it, 156 km from the path. July 6, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2026-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2754 joules per kilogram, CIN -6, lifted condensation level 1313 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2026-07-06The 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 25 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 23 knots.1939Sfc1 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
2754 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3043 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1313 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9
0-3 km lapse rate
7.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Harrisburg/Capital (CXY), 17 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:56 UTC87.869.8120° 8 kt1011.9
22:15 UTC120° 8 kt1011.9
22:20 UTC120° 9 kt1011.9
22:25 UTC110° 7 kt1011.9
22:30 UTC110° 6 kt1011.9
22:35 UTC110° 7 kt1011.9
22:40 UTC110° 8 kt1011.9
22:45 UTC110° 7 kt1011.9
22:50 UTC100° 7 kt1011.9
22:55 UTC100° 7 kt1011.5
22:56 UTC8770100° 7 kt1011.5VCTS
23:00 UTC90° 7 kt1011.5
23:05 UTC80° 8 kt1011.5
23:10 UTC80° 6 kt1011.5
23:15 UTC100° 8 kt1011.5
23:20 UTC90° 8 kt1011.5
23:23 UTC867190° 9 kt1011.5TS
23:25 UTC 1011.5
23:30 UTC 9 kt1011.9
23:35 UTC0° 0 kt1012.2
23:40 UTC 1012.5-RA
23:45 UTC 331012.5-RA
23:50 UTC 401013.2+RA BR
23:51 UTC73.471.6320° 25 kt411013.5+TSRA BR
23:55 UTC 241013.9+RA BR
23:56 UTC73.471.6320° 24 kt411013.5+TSRA BR
00:00 UTC 16 kt211014.2+RA FG
00:03 UTC7271360° 14 kt261014.6+TSRA FG
00:05 UTC 1014.6+RA FG
00:10 UTC320° 6 kt1015.2+RA BR
00:15 UTC7271170° 7 kt1015.2+TSRA BR
00:15 UTC170° 7 kt1015.2+RA BR
00:20 UTC80° 7 kt1014.6+RA BR
00:21 UTC727080° 7 kt1014.6+TSRA BR
00:25 UTC80° 9 kt1014.2+RA BR
00:29 UTC727170° 13 kt171013.9+TSRA BR
00:30 UTC60° 13 kt1013.9+RA BR
00:35 UTC80° 7 kt1013.5+RA BR
00:39 UTC7372 5 kt1013.5-TSRA BR
00:40 UTC40° 5 kt1013.5-RA
00:45 UTC20° 5 kt1013.5-RA
00:46 UTC7371 3 kt1013.5VCTS -RA
00:50 UTC0° 0 kt1013.5-RA
00:55 UTC180° 6 kt1013.5-RA
00:56 UTC73.471.60° 0 kt1013.5VCTS -RA
01:00 UTC140° 5 kt1013.5-RA
01:05 UTC130° 4 kt1013.2-RA
01:10 UTC110° 3 kt1013.2-RA

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

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:12 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
21:41 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nnw MifflintownJuniata, PAConstruction equipment blown onto Route 322 blocking traffic.
21:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw MifflinJuniata, PATrees down across School House Road.
22:24 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ne LandisburgPerry, PATrees down on wires along Milltown Road.
22:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Se ShermansdalePerry, PANumerous trees down on wires around Shermansdale.
23:07 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Ene Port RoyalJuniata, PAWater flowing across a stretch of old Route 22 in Walker Township.
23:14 UTCTORNADO4 Wsw MarysvillePerry, PAEF1 tornado occurred in Lambs Gap near Marysville, PA.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S CarlisleCumberland, PANumerous reports of trees and wires down around south Carlisle.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 W DauphinDauphin, PANumerous trees down along Hazel Avenue.
00:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nne HighspireDauphin, PATrees down on Route 283.
00:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Wsw MaytownLancaster, PATrees and wires down across River Road.
00:31 UTCFLASH FLOODLemoyneCumberland, PAReports of occupied vehicles in flood waters along Hummel Avenue / Gettysburg Road between South 10th Street and Carlisle Road.
00:39 UTCFLASH FLOODHummelstownDauphin, PANumerous cars underwater in Hummelstown near Swatara Creek. Many reports of 3.5-4.0 inches of rain in 45 minutes. Water rescues in progress.
00:40 UTCFLASH FLOODHummelstownDauphin, PAFlooded underpass beneath a railroad crossing in Hummelstown.
00:47 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Wnw HersheyDauphin, PAWater rescues underway on Hersheypark Drive near the Giant Center.
00:52 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 E YorkYork, PAWater rescue on East Princess Street at Sherman Street in the city of York.
01:43 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Se HummelstownDauphin, PARoute 322 was closed between the Middletown Road exit and Hersheypark Drive due to flooding.
01:45 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Ene LoganvilleYork, PACar trapped by water along Iron Stone Hill 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 5, 2026

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

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 52:03 PM EDTEF1Mahoning, OH0.6300

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.