National Weather Service deems Lawrence County tornado ‘EF-1'

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — The National Weather Service was in Lawrence County Thursday surveying the damage caused by Wednesday’s tornado that touched down in North Beaver Township.

The tornado touched down south of New Castle along Route 168 about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday as a new line of heavy storms moved through the region.

The NWS ruled the tornado an EF-1, meaning winds gusted between 86 and 110 mph.

The Enhanced F-scale is a set of wind estimates based on damage.  It uses three-second gusts estimated at the point of damage.

The damage indicator of an EF-1 tornado is small barns and farm outbuildings.

“In a matter of minutes, everything broke loose up here,” Channel 11’s Amy Marcinkiewicz said. “We were on our way when the tornado touched down.”

The NWS said barns were damaged, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

George Mallory said the tornado ripped the porch off of his house.

“There’s destruction and damage all around, but we’ll hold together and clean it up. These are good people here,” County Commissioner Dan Vogler said.

WPXI