Public Information Statement for May 22, 2014 Tornado Event in Marydel, DE

Heat Continues for the East and South-Central U.S.; Strong to Severe Storms Across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

The extremely dangerous heat wave continues across the East Coast and much of the South-Central U.S. today. Record high temperatures are expected for some areas especially across the Mid-Atlantic where extreme heat risk conditions reside. There is a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe thunderstorms today for the northern Mid-Atlantic into portions of southern New England. Read More >

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 634 PM EDT FRI MAY 23 2014 ...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR MARYDEL IN KENT COUNTY DELAWARE... LOCATION...MARYDEL IN KENT COUNTY DELAWARE DATE...05/22/2014 ESTIMATED TIME...449PM EDT MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1 ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...105 MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...50 YARDS PATH LENGTH...0.35 MILES BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.098N/-75.667W ENDING LAT/LON...39.096N/-75.661W FATALITIES...0 INJURIES...2 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 MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR MARYDEL IN KENT COUNTY DELAWARE ON 05/22/2014. AN EF1 TORNADO OCCURRED THURSDAY AFTERNOON MAY 22, 2014 IN MARYDEL DELAWARE...EMBEDDED WITHIN A SWATH OF STRONG STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. MAXIMUM WIND SPEED IS ESTIMATED TO BE 105 MPH AT ITS STRONGEST POINT. INITIAL TOUCHDOWN WAS 449PM AND IT WAS LAST ON THE GROUND AT 451PM. THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/PHI. 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. WE HAVE RESEARCHED CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION ON TORNADOES IN DELAWARE AND THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME STATISTICS. A REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATABASE BACK TO 1950 FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE REVEALS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN 48 DAYS OF TORNADO OCCURRENCES (64 YEARS INTO 2014). ONLY 2 DEATHS HAVE OCCURRED AND THOSE WERE ON JULY 21 1983. THERE HAVE BEEN 74 INJURIES. OF THOSE 48 TORNADO DAYS IN THE 64 YEAR REVIEW PERIOD...ONLY 12 OF THOSE DAYS HAD RECORDED INJURIES. THERE HAS BEEN 1 TORNADO PER YEAR THE LAST 4 YEARS. YESTERDAYS (5/22/14) MARYDEL. (EF1) 2013 COOCH IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY ON JUNE 10 EF0 2012 WYOMING IN KENT COUNTY ON SEPTEMBER 3 EF0 2011 NASSAU IN SUSSEX COUNTY AUGUST 27 EF1 THEN WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO SEPTEMBER 28 2004 AT THE WILMINGTON AIRPORT WHERE AN F2 WAS DOCUMENTED. SO, NO TORNADOES WERE DOCUMENTED IN DELAWARE BETWEEN 2005 AND 2010. THE STRONGEST TORNADO REFERENCED IN THE STORM DATABASE SINCE 1950 WAS AN F3 ON APRIL 28 1961 THE LAST TIME THERE WERE INJURIES IN DELAWARE DUE TO A TORNADO OCCURRENCE WAS JULY 27 1994 WHEN 4 WERE INJURED IN FARMINGTON OF KENT COUNTY. THREE TORNADOES OCCURRED THAT DAY IN KENT COUNTY DELAWARE. STORM PREDICTION CENTER STATISTICAL ANALYSIS FOR AREA COVERING SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA...SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY...DELAWARE AND EASTERN MARYLAND BETWEEN 2003 AND 2011 INDICATES TORNADO OCCURRENCE IS MOST COMMON IN JULY WITH THE PREPONDERANCE OF EVENTS FROM MID AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING (3 PM TO 8 PM EDT). $$ JM/MWG/JB CORRECTED WIDTH TO YARDS AND ADDED CLIMATOLOGY