EF2 Tornado near White Horse, PA on February 24, 2016

...EF2 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN LANCASTER COUNTY...

LOCATION...WHITE HORSE IN LANCASTER COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA
DATE...FEBRUARY 24 2016
ESTIMATED TIME...0738 PM EST
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF2
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...120-125 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...400 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...4.87 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...40.01N / 76.03W
ENDING LAT/LON...40.07N / 75.98W
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN
NWS STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE PA HAS CONFIRMED AN
EF2 TORNADO NEAR WHITE HORSE IN LANCASTER COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA ON
FEBRUARY 24 2016.

THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ONE-HALF MILE SOUTHWEST OF THE
INTERSECTION OF AMISH ROAD AND SPRING GARDEN ROAD THEN TRAVELED TO
THE NORTHEAST AT A SPEED OF AROUND 50 MPH...STAYING ON THE GROUND
FOR 7 MINUTES. AN ESTIMATED 50 BUILDINGS SUSTAINED DAMAGE ALONG
THE PATH OF THE TORNADO. TWO LARGE FARM OUTBUILDINGS AND ONE TWO-
STORY RESIDENCE HAD THE MAJORITY...OR THEIR ENTIRE ROOFS BLOWN OFF
NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF AMISH ROAD AND SPRING GARDEN ROAD. THIS
MARKED THE TRANSITION OF THE TORNADO FROM EF1 TO EF2. A VAN WITH
SEVERAL PASSENGERS TRAVELING WEST ON SPRING GARDEN ROAD AND NEAR
THE SAME INTERSECTION WAS BLOWN ABOUT 10 FEET TO THE NORTH OF THE
ROAD AND INTO A FIELD. AROUND ONE HALF MILE TO THE NORTHEAST AND
ALONG MILLWOOD ROAD...ADDITIONAL EF2 DAMAGE OCCURRED AS ROOFS WERE
BLOWN OFF SEVERAL FARM OUTBUILDINGS AND BARNS... ALONG WITH ONE
TWO STORY RESIDENCE. A PINE TREE LOCATED IN THE FRONT YARD WAS
STRIPPED OF MOST OF ITS BRANCHES AND FOLIAGE...WITH ONLY A FEW
LARGER BARE LIMBS REMAINING. A WOODEN BARN BEHIND THE RESIDENCE
WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED WITH SUBSTANTIAL DEBRIS CARRIED SEVERAL
HUNDRED YARDS TO THE NORTHEAST ACROSS A FIELD. MID TO HIGH END EF1
DAMAGE TO ROOFS WAS NOTED TO SEVERAL FARM BUILDINGS AND HOMES
ALONG THE EAST-WEST PORTION OF MILLWOOD ROAD...AND ALONG OLD
PHILADELPHIA PIKE NEAR SCHOOL LANE ROAD. A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF
DEBRIS IN THE FORM OF CRUMPLED SHEET METAL FROM ROOFS WAS
SCATTERED ACROSS FIELDS ADJACENT TO MEETING HOUSE ROAD TO THE
NORTH OF OLD PHILADELPHIA PIKE. A SECOND AREA OF CONCENTRATED EF2
DAMAGE WAS NOTED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF SELDOMRIDGE ROAD AND
CAMBRIDGE ROAD. THE TORNADO KNOCKED OVER SEVERAL LARGE GRANITE
TOMBSTONES IN A CEMETERY...THEN STRIPPED ABOUT ONE QUARTER OF THE
ROOF OFF A LARGE BUILDING WHERE MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE WERE
ATTENDING AN AUCTION. THE FINAL LOCATION OF EF2 DAMAGE WAS NOTED
ALONG KAUFFROTH ROAD AND JUST A FEW HUNDRED YARDS TO THE NORTH OF
ITS INTERSECTION WITH SELDOMRIDGE ROAD. IT WAS HERE WHERE A LARGE
ONE- ROOM METAL AMISH SCHOOL WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND BLOWN
ABOUT 100 YARDS UPHILL AND INTO A FIELD. THE TORNADO BEGAN TO
WEAKEN FROM THIS POINT WITH THE FINAL EF1 DAMAGE NOTED NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF GAULT ROAD AND ROSEHILL DRIVE WHERE SIGNIFICANT
DAMAGE OCCURRED TO ROOFS AND SIDING ON SEVERAL HOMES AND SHEDS.
SEVERAL SOFTWOOD TREES WERE ALSO UPROOTED AT THE END OF THE
TORNADO PATH ABOUT 100 YARDS TO THE NORTH OF THISTLE DRIVE.


THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES
INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.

$$

HAGNER/LAMBERT/WATSON/CHABALA