All three tornadoes from the Tuesday, Sept. 1 storms were rated EF1. They carved a combined 8.45-mile path through Potter, Tioga, Montour, and Lancaster counties, according to the NWS.
No injuries or deaths were reported.
The latest tornado confirmed it touched down near Gap in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, at 7:44 p.m.
Packing estimated peak winds of 90 mph, the tornado ripped the roof from a barn and threw sections of it through the Old Road Mennonite Church graveyard.
It then crossed Old Philadelphia Pike, tore the roof from another barn, and scattered roofing and loose items from three farm outbuildings across nearby fields.
The tornado also uprooted trees, bent a telephone pole, and tore the entire roof from a one-room schoolhouse before crossing Pequea Creek and dissipating in a field at 7:48 p.m.
It traveled 1.08 miles and reached a maximum width of 100 yards.
The first and strongest tornado of the day touched down north of Galeton in Potter County at 5:33 p.m., packing estimated peak winds of 110 mph.
The tornado snapped and uprooted trees as it moved southeast toward Route 6 before causing more widespread damage along Hanky Panky Road in Gaines Township, Tioga County.
Witnesses reported trees lying across the road in a converging pattern. The tornado continued through the Marshlands area before dissipating near Straight Run Road at 5:48 p.m.
It remained on the ground for 6.5 miles and reached a maximum width of 150 yards.
A second EF1 tornado touched down in Derry Township, Montour County, at 5:40 p.m.
The brief tornado packed winds of up to 100 mph, snapped two large trees onto a shed, and left a trail of damaged trees through the surrounding woods. It traveled 0.87 miles in about one minute and reached a maximum width of 250 yards.
The NWS also found straight-line wind damage from a downburst north of that tornado’s path.
Four Tornadoes Strike In 16 Minutes
The Sept. 1 tornadoes came 12 days after four tornadoes tore through York and Lancaster counties in a 16-minute span on Thursday, Aug. 20.
The strongest touched down two miles south-southwest of Wrightsville at 4:24 p.m., according to the NWS.
That EF2 packed estimated peak winds of 120 mph as it traveled 1.07 miles with a maximum width of 100 yards.
After snapping trees near Vista Lane, the tornado struck Eastern York High School, where it completely ripped the roof from multiple classrooms. Part of the auditorium roof was also torn away, and bricks along the top of a wall were shifted.
The twister then damaged windows and siding at homes along Winding Way. One person was injured when a window blew into a house.
Minutes later, an EF1 tornado touched down in Columbia with winds estimated at 100 mph.
It knocked part of a second-story brick wall from an old firehouse onto Avenue H and a neighboring store while tearing roofs from the firehouse and another nearby building.
The tornado continued southeast through Columbia, collapsing small outbuildings, damaging roofs, and snapping or uprooting trees before lifting after traveling 3.01 miles.
Two EF0 tornadoes followed near Mountville and in Manor Township.
The first carved a narrow path through several cornfields near Habecker Church Road with winds estimated at 65 mph. The second packed winds of up to 85 mph, damaged trees, pulled gutters from homes, and partially tore the roof from a townhouse.
The NWS findings remain preliminary and could change following a final review.
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