EF0-EF2 twisters touch down Monday in rural areas
One of the two Greene County tornadoes confirmed to reach the ground Monday may have been the strongest on record for a county that doesn’t see many in the first place.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh confirmed Tuesday that the pair of twisters struck rural parts of the southwestern-most county in the Commonwealth. No one was injured or killed, but the violent winds between 110-120 mph ripped apart trees, roofs, and vehicles.
And by all accounts, the EF2 tornado, especially, was unusual. According to the NWS’s Storm Events Database, only one F2 has struck Greene County. The database is limited to storm events that have occurred since 1950. In this case, the tornado is based on the Fujita Scale, instead of the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which was implemented nationwide in 2007. Preliminary data suggests the storm Monday was a far stronger event than one that struck in 1968.
In its report, the NWS said the bigger of the two storms that struck Monday stretched nearly 2 miles and was on the ground for about four minutes. Officials say the funnel cloud started in West Virginia near the Ohio and Marshall county lines, then crossed into Greene County, Pennsylvania, before lifting just over the Washington County line in Pennsylvania.
Its path of destruction was fierce. In addition to substantial tree damage, the tornado that struck Monday:
- Destroyed a barn along Dallas Pike Road,
- Overturned a camper, and
- Ripped the roof off a 160-year-old barn.
Greene County Tornadoes Among the Few This Year
But the verocity of Monday’s storm was not the only oddity. Accuweater reported Tuesday that tornado reports in the United States are below normal so far in 2022.
Through the end of July, we have seen around 1,000 tornado reports, which actually is just below average going into this time of the year. March and April were well above average, nearly double the numbers we typically see in those two months. And March alone accounted for nearly 300 tornado reports, nearly four times the number we would see that month.
Accuweather Meteorologist and storm chaser Tony Laubach
So, despite an active spring, the winds have been a little quiter this year. That makes Monday’s event that much more special. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to worry about. Tornadoes have been increasing in frequency since the NWS began tracking major storms.
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