Meteorologists from the National Weather Service of Philadelphia – Mt. Holly say the tornado that hit communities along the Pennsylvania and New Jersey border was classified as an EF-3 tornado with maximum winds up to 140 mph.
The tornado struck Thursday afternoon during a busy series of severe weather warnings for the Northeast United States.
Scary skies over Bensalem, PA, on Thursday as you'll see a little later in the video a tornado moved close to the Neshaminy Mall! #pawx pic.twitter.com/iaYQewjyet
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 30, 2021
Debris could be seen falling from the sky in Bensalem and nearby communities after the tornado hit Thursday.
New Video: #tornado warned storm around 5 pm ET today, north of Wheeling #ohio @NWSPittsburgh #OHwx Video: Nikita Hoffman pic.twitter.com/Ub0vyIleKZ
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 29, 2021
So far there have been about 20 tornadoes reported on Thursday across parts of the Northeast United States.
Another tornado then hit later in the evening in Ocean County, New Jersey. There were multiple areas of storm damage consistent with an EF-1 tornado but a few spots on Long Beach Island, NJ experienced EF-2 tornado damage.
Here are a couple of maps showing you where some of the tornadoes hit Thursday.
The EF tornado scale is short for Enhanced Fujita and ranges from 0 to 5, with 5 being the strongest
- EF-0: Winds 65-85 mph
- EF-1: Winds 86-110 mph
- EF-2: Winds 111-135 mph
- EF-3: Winds 136-165 mph
- EF-4: Winds 166-200 mph
- EF-5: Winds 201 + mph
According to the National Weather Service, the Bensalem – Trevose area tornado was the first EF-3 tornado in Pennsylvania since 2004 and first EF-3 tornado in New Jersey since 1990! There have not been any reports of injuries or fatalities at this time.
Here are additional videos of the storms from Thursday:
Storms in and around Fredericksburg, VA, produced blinding rain, powerful winds, and large hail in some spots up to 2.25" in diameter! Take a listen! #vawx pic.twitter.com/uKcoHp2qUA
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 29, 2021
https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1420912026201829396
👀WILD VIDEO 😱 || Check out this incredible view
of this #tornado Thursday evening in Nanty-Glo, Pennsylvania! You can see multiple vortices within the tornado!! #PAwx #Pennsylvania #Tornado #SevereWeather
Video Credit: Steve Hauck pic.twitter.com/XzwQGpYFgZ— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 30, 2021
https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1421032837118054404
Check out this waterspout offshore of South Delaware yesterday! Waterspouts tend to be relatively weak, but can still pose a threat to boaters and those on land if it makes it on land. At that point, it's referred to as a tornado. pic.twitter.com/JtL75IULuq
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 30, 2021