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In less than one minute the first tornado touched down and destroyed a pole barn, moved a “very heavy farming auger” approximately 100 yards, lifted the roof off of an outbuilding, destroyed a pole barn, and forced an outdoor shed off of its foundation when it touched down on Hartzok Road in Franklin County at 11:45 a.m., according to a release by the National Weather Service.
The tornado then crossed the road and damaged a roof, fields, and snapped trees before it disappeared, NWS reports.
Nearly an hour later, a separate tornado tipped over a trail on Long Gap Road in Carlisle, Cumberland County, at 12:42 p.m., again lasting less than one minute, according to NWS.
The final tornado touched down in Lancaster County traveling from Kirkwood to Christiana between 2:11 and 2:16 p.m., NWS said in a statement.
It first touched down in the 400 block of Maple Shade Road, damaging trees and a building’s siding before blowing through a field behind the post office on Kirkwood Pike and slamming into a cinder block shed— carrying contents from inside the shed— before destroying another small shed— and again, gather and dropping the debris in the area hundreds of yards away, according to the release.
Then the tornado intensified with wind speeds up to 86 to 110 mph as it moved northeast— completely destroying a large barn, and partially destroying a second barn— completely removing one wall, partially removing another, and pulling off half of the roof on Farmdale Road, the release shows.
Flying debris caused minor injuries to one person on the property, before it moved on to rip up trees, dent a silo, and plow fields along its path through East Salem and Ridge roads, officials say.
The Amish farm property on Rosedale Road experienced the most damage with two barns and a shed destroyed, and “wooden beams from one of the barns were carried by the tornado as projectiles that penetrated through the (northwest) facing wall of another barn on the property,” a silo top was removed, and a home on the property being heavily damaged, officials stated in a release the following Tuesday.
The home had siding damage and a basement— where two people were sheltering from the storm—collapsed, leaving the pair injured with “minor cuts and scratches to at least two people taking shelter in the basement, according to the release.
The tornado continued to another farm, removing the roofs off two barns, partially removing the roof off another, damaging two silos, and collapsing a shed along Highland Road, the release details.
It finally began to slow down and dissipate after it removed the roof of a three farm’s barn on Rynear Road near Bells Run, according to the NWS.
All three tornados are considered weak on The Enhanced Fujita Scale.
- EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph
- EF1...Weak......86 to 110 mph
- EF2...Strong....111 to 135 mph
- EF3...Strong....136 to 165 mph
- EF4...Violent...166 to 200 mph
- EF5...Violent...>200 mph
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