BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — The National Weather Service confirmed Friday that an EF-0 tornado touched down Thursday in Butler County.
Officials said the tornado touched down near Renfrew at approximately 9:47 p.m. There were no reported injuries.
A NWS investigation team determined that the tornado traveled a mile and had a maximum estimated wind speed of 80 mph.
EF-0 tornadoes are the least powerful, but the heavy winds and storms created a mess of debris. Channel 11’s Steven Fisher spoke with neighbors who were cleaning up Friday.
Nancy Gill was one of many residents whose property sustained damaged in the tornado. A shed blew into her garden, and the wind uprooted an apple tree.
“We’ve lived here for 50 years this year (and) never (had) anything like this before. High winds, but never anything like this,” Gill said.
Channel 11’s Mike Holden found at least four trees and a power line down in Evans City on Thursday night. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued late Thursday for several counties, including Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland. The final active warning expired at 11:15 p.m.
Thursday’s tornado was the fifth to occur in the NWS’ forecast area this season, and it was the 22nd tornado since 1950 to hit Butler County. On average Western Pennsylvania experiences four to six tornadoes annually.