The National Weather Service has released additional information regarding the tornado that touched down in Allentown during Monday’s storms.
The National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office said Wednesday that the tornado which struck the Midway Manor section of Allentown was an EF1, with estimated peak wind speeds of 100 mph.
The NWS first confirmed the tornado Tuesday evening, after a storm survey team visited the area.
A public information statement from the weather service said the twister touched down at around 7:21 p.m. on Monday near East Pennsylvania Street, between North Ulster and North Van Buren streets.
The statement said damage to the roof of a church and a neighboring shed was observed, with multiple shingles having been removed and displaced. A large hardwood tree was also uprooted.
The tornado traveled northeast toward East Lily and North Wahneta streets, causing sporadic tree damage, but as it crossed North Wahneta the damage increased.
The tornado pulled a shed off its foundation and threw it 50 feet, and uprooted or snapped multiple trees, according to the NWS.
The tornado reached its maximum intensity and width, around 160 yards, as it approached and crossed East Fairmont Street. The greatest amount was done to homes along the west side of Club Avenue, where the weather service said multiple buildings lost between 30-50% of their roof covering, among other damages suffered.
One home had a front porch awning taken off the east side of the house, lofted, then landed about 100 feet away in the backyard of a house two doors down,” the weather service wrote.
“Additionally, damaged crops in the backyard of a home were fallen in a manner consistent with a convergent wind pattern.”
As it crossed into Bethlehem the tornado began to weaken, though it still snapped or tore large branches off multiple trees, before dissipating as it approached Pennsylvania Avenue.
The weather service said there were no known injuries or fatalities associated with this tornado. The twister had a path length of 0.3 miles, and lasted approximately two minutes.
The NWS also confirmed that the storms produced a second tornado, which touched down in Holland Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
This tornado was rated an EF0, with estimated peak wind speeds of 85 mph. It traveled for 0.52 miles, reached a maximum width of 150 yards, and was an the ground for approximately one minute. It damaged trees, and also caused significant damage to two farm outbuildings.
The Midway Manor tornado is the second confirmed funnel cloud to have touched down in the Lehigh Valley this summer.
In late June, an EF0 tornado touched down in Northampton County near the Martins Creek Belvidere highway, with wind speeds of around 65 mph.
According to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which classifies tornados based on estimated wind speed and related damage, an EF1 is a “weak” tornado with wind speeds of between 86 and 110 miles per hour.
An EF0, the weakest category, has wind speeds between 65-85 mph. The most severe categorization, EF5, has wind speeds of over 200 mph.
Another NWS survey team also investigated damages in the Center Valley, Upper and Lower Saucon Township areas.
The NWS statement said extensive tree damage was observed, but the weather service determined that the damage patterns were consistent with straight-line wind damage.
A tornado watch had been declared across the Lehigh Valley until 11 p.m. on Monday. The severe storms also knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes.
(Original air-date: 8/10/23)
