EF-1 tornado touches down in Washington County

SOUTH FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — Wicked weather on Saturday night pummeled our region, with more than 150 severe weather warnings and advisories. 

The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in Washington County.

Frank McAdams’ house in South Franklin Township took a beating. His patio was destroyed, and a tarp now covers a gaping hole in his roof. The NWS said it was a tornado that caused the destruction. It also took down a nearby barn, tore apart trees and snapped power poles in half. 

Camden Fletcher lives on Cracraft Road where the tornado hit. 

“Ripped this entire tree out, took the trampoline and threw it across into the yard, trees hit up against the house,” Fletcher said.

“They could see the funnel cloud coming down and their initial thought was it was going to hit our house because it came right through,” Fletcher added. “Fortunately, crazy as it seems, it seemed to have hit here and then skipped and just destroyed the whole other side of the tree line here.”

A survey team traced the tornado’s path and rated it an EF-1 with peak winds of 105 miles per hour. It traveled 2.4 miles with a width of 30 yards and lifted as it approached State Route 221. It’s officially the 16th tornado to touch down in Washington County since 1950.

Amazingly, no one suffered injuries, but Fletcher says his animals got quite a scare.

“Fortunately, none of our animals on the inside got hurt. Our chickens, we’re chicken farmers, they were frightened,” Fletcher said. “But fortunately they’re all accounted for and we didn’t lose any.”