933
NOUS41 KPBZ 091410
PNSPBZ

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
1010 AM EDT THU MAY 9 2024


...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 05/08/2024 TORNADO EVENT...

.JEFFERSON COUNTY OHIO, HANCOCK COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA, BEAVER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA...

RATING:                 EF-2
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    130 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  15 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   200 YARDS
FATALITIES:             0
INJURIES:               1

START DATE:             05/08/2024
START TIME:             12:54 AM EDT
START LOCATION:         3 SE SALINEVILLE / JEFFERSON COUNTY / OH
START LAT/LON:          40.5834 / -80.8012

END DATE:               05/08/2024
END TIME:               01:17 AM EDT
END LOCATION:           3 SSW HOOKSTOWN / BEAVER COUNTY / PA
END LAT/LON:            40.5597 / -80.5119

SURVEY SUMMARY:
A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM, EMBEDDED WITHIN A BROKEN LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS, PRODUCED A SERIES OF TORNADOES AS IT TRACKED
ACROSS EASTERN OHIO, THE NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE, AND
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON
WEDNESDAY.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TORNADO DEVELOPED ACROSS NORTHWEST
JEFFERSON COUNTY OHIO AROUND 12:54 AM, ALONG COUNTY HIGHWAY 55.
INITIALLY, IT SNAPPED AND UPROOTED NUMEROUS HARDWOOD TREES. AS
THE TORNADO MOVED EAST ALONG HIGHWAY 55, IT TOOK ROOFS OFF
MULTIPLE HOMES, OVERTURNED AND TOSSED A MOBILE HOME, AND SHIFTED
A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE OFF ITS FOUNDATION. THE TWISTER THEN
MOVED INTO THE CENTER OF IRONDALE, WHERE NUMEROUS HARDWOOD AND
SOFTWOOD TREES WERE UPROOTED AND SNAPPED, ALL CONSISTENT WITH EF-
2 DAMAGE. THE TORNADO WAS ABLE TO DESCEND AND CLIMB THROUGH STEEP
TERRAIN, WITH HUNDREDS OF TREES OBSERVED DAMAGED OR DESTROYED
FROM THE HIGHWAY 55 RIDGE LINE AND ALONG A STEEP SEVERAL HUNDRED
FOOT ESCARPMENT. SEVERAL TREES FELL ONTO HOMES CAUSING DAMAGE. A
METAL BUILDING SYSTEM LOST ITS ROOF AND PART OF THE SIDE WALLS.
THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO MOVE EAST CAUSING DOWNED TREES ALONG
STATE ROUTE 213 IN HAMMONDSVILLE EASTWARD TO THE OHIO RIVER.AFTER
CROSSING THE OHIO RIVER SOUTH OF WELLSVILLE, THE TORNADO REACHED
PEAK INTENSITY AS IT CROSSED THE COMMUNITY OF FAIRHAVEN SEVERAL
MILES SOUTH OF CHESTER, WEST VIRGINIA. EXTENSIVE TREE AND
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED ALONG INTERNATIONAL DRIVE AND
LOCUST HILL ROAD.  THERE WERE MULTIPLE HOMES THAT LOST THEIR
ENTIRE ROOF AND SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO SIDE WALLS.  NUMEROUS BARNS
AND OUTBUILDINGS WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED.  ALL MATURE HARDWOOD
AND SOFTWOOD TREES, SOME WELL OVER 100 YEARS OLD, WERE SNAPPED
WITH A FEW LINGERING HARDWOOD TREES THAT WERE DEBARKED. A HIGH-
END EF2 RATING OF 130 MPH WAS OBSERVED IN THIS LOCATION.
PITTSBURGH DOPPLER RADAR VELOCITY SIGNATURES IN THIS AREA WERE AT
THE HIGH END OF THOSE OBSERVED HISTORICALLY, COUPLED WITH A
SIGNIFICANT DEBRIS SIGNATURE ALOFT. FURTHER DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED
ACROSS ROUTE 8 EXTENDING BACK UPHILL INTO THE NEXT RIDGE LINE,
WHERE AN AUTO REPAIR METAL OUTBUILDING WAS DESTROYED, ALONG WITH
DAMAGE SUSTAINED TO SEVERAL VINTAGE AUTOMOBILES. THE ADJACENT
PROPERTY SUFFERED LOSS OF ROOFING, A PORCH, AND AN ADDITION. THE
TORNADO FINALLY CROSSED THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE INTO FAR WESTERN
BEAVER COUNTY, WHERE THE LAST INDICATIONS OF DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED
ALONG GAS VALLEY ROAD WHERE SEVERAL TREES WERE UPROOTED.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK HANCOCK COUNTY
OFFICE EMERGENCY SERVICES, JEFFERSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY, AND THE IRONDALE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE.

THIS IS THE FIRST RECORDED TORNADO IN HANCOCK COUNTY WEST
VIRGINIA, AND THE 9TH DOCUMENTED TORNADO IN JEFFERSON COUNTY OHIO.
THE MOST RECENT ONE THERE WAS OCTOBER 21 2021 AND WAS RATED AN
EF0. THIS WAS BEAVER COUNTY PA`S FIRST TORNADO SINCE
OCTOBER 21, 2021 AS WELL.

.FINDLAY TOWNSHIP PENNSYLVANIA TORNADO...

RATING:                 EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    105 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  0.20 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   150 YARDS
FATALITIES:             0
INJURIES:               0

START DATE:             05/08/2024
START TIME:             01:49 AM EDT
START LOCATION:         3 ENE IMPERIAL-ENLOW / ALLEGHENY COUNTY / PA
START LAT/LON:          40.4623 / -80.1968

END DATE:               05/08/2024
END TIME:               01:50 AM EDT
END LOCATION:           3 ENE IMPERIAL-ENLOW / ALLEGHENY COUNTY / PA
END LAT/LON:            40.4607 / -80.1936

SURVEY SUMMARY:
A STORM SURVEY PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
CONFIRMED THAT A BRIEF EF-1 TORNADO, WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF
105 MPH, OCCURRED NEAR ATEN ROAD IN FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, JUST WEST
OF I-376 AND ADJACENT TO THE PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NORTH OF ATEN ROAD, WHERE A TRAILER
ON BLOCKS IN A PARKING LOT WAS OVERTURNED, WITH SOME TREE
DAMAGE NEARBY. THE TORNADO THEN PROGRESSED SOUTHEAST, SNAPPING AT
LEAST 15-20 TREES ALONG THE NORTHERN SIDE OF ATEN ROAD. THIS AREA
REPRESENTED THE STRONGEST DAMAGE, WHERE THE 105 MPH WIND WAS
ASSIGNED. A NEARBY OUTBUILDING LOST A METAL ROOF IN SEVERAL
PIECES. ONE PORTION FELL ON THE INTERSTATE, WHILE ANOTHER BLEW
OVER THE INTERSTATE AND LANDED ROUGHLY A QUARTER-MILE DOWNWIND.
THE TORNADO CAUSED ADDITIONAL TREE DAMAGE NEAR THE EDGEWORTH
SECURITY AND MARRIOT HOTEL BUILDINGS.  THE TORNADO LIKELY THEN
LIFTED, AS NO OTHER APPRECIABLE DAMAGE WAS NOTED OTHER THAN THE
PREVIOUSLY NOTED ROOF PIECES THAT WERE BLOWN DOWNSTREAM.

.LIGONIER TOWNSHIP PENNSYLVANIA TORNADO...

RATING:                 EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    100 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  1.3 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   200 YARDS
FATALITIES:             0
INJURIES:               0

START DATE:             05/08/2024
START TIME:             03:30 AM EDT
START LOCATION:         1/2 N LATROBE RESERVOIR/ WESTMORELAND COUNTY / PA
START LAT/LON:          40.2986 / -79.2485

END DATE:               05/08/2024
END TIME:               04:00 AM EDT
END LOCATION:           1/3 ESE MORNING STAR MEADOWS FARM / WESTMORELAND COUNTY / PA
END LAT/LON:            40.2982 / -79.2268

SURVEY SUMMARY: THE TEAM OBSERVED TREE DAMAGE ALONG MATSON ROAD
WHERE THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN INITIALLY. THE DAMAGE IN THIS AREA
WOULD INDICATE AN EF0 TORNADO, WITH A COUPLE OF TREES, SNAPPED MORE
THAN HALFWAY UP FROM THE BASE. THE TEAM NOTICED MORE SIGNIFICANT
DAMAGE STARTING AT AUSTRAW ROAD, WHERE SEVERAL TREES WERE EITHER
UPROOTED, OR THEIR TRUNKS WERE SNAPPED HALFWAY UP.
A SMALL CATTLE SHELTER ALSO COLLAPSED IN THIS AREA. THE TREE DAMAGE
CONTINUED UP AND DOWN THE HILLSIDE TO THE EAST TOWARD MCCURDY TRAIL
AND BERKELEY ROAD. CONCENTRATED DAMAGE OCCURRED AROUND TWO HOMES IN
THIS AREA, MAINLY TO TREES. A MIX OF VERY LARGE HARD AND SOFTWOOD TREES
WAS SNAPPED LOW ON THE TRUNK AND UP HIGH, WHILE OTHERS WERE UPROOTED. ANOTHER
AREA OF CONCENTRATED TREE DAMAGE WAS NOTED IN THE FIELDS EAST OF BERKELEY
DOWN TO COALPIT CREEK, WHERE THE TORNADO LIFTED. THE TEAM ALSO OBSERVED THAT
SOME TREES IN THIS AREA WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR BARK.

&&

EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0.....65 TO 85 MPH
EF1.....86 TO 110 MPH
EF2.....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3.....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4.....166 TO 200 MPH
EF5.....>200 MPH

NOTE:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENTS AND PUBLICATION IN
NWS STORM DATA.


$$

BOOKBINDER/MCMULLEN/HEFFERAN/LEONARDI/MILLER/DARNLEY