Was it fake or was it real? That was the buzz on social media as Berks County residents saw various photos and videos of a Tornado around the Shartlesville/ Hamburg area. Turns out it was after the National Weather Service announced the findings of their investigation today.
At Approximately 2:36pm an 80mph Tornado rated as an EF-0 traveled 2.1 miles with a width of 50 yards in Northeastern Berks. Here is a summary by the National Weather Service on their initial investigation.
A storm survey found a damage path of trees that were located on private property behind Mountain Springs Campground on the southern slope of Blue Mountain. The most concentrated damage consisted of several large hardwood trees that were uprooted and
snapped at a private residence off of nearby Mountain Road. The direction of the felled trees exhibited a rotational pattern consistent with tornadic damage.
Geo-located damage photos from a trained storm spotter was used to help estimate the beginning location of the tornado since the NWS storm surveyor were unable to access the property. The trained spotter observed tree damage just north of Interstate 78
adjacent near Campsite Road, Northkill Road and Forge Dam Road.
Additional video evidence of the tornado that was posted on the Mount Holly, NJ Facebook page help confirm the tornado and the general storm motion.
The National Weather Service would like to thank Lou Ruh, Skywarn
Coordinator, for his assistance in this storm survey.
Tornado are classified by wind speed using the ‘Enhanced Fujita’ Scale. Tornado’s are classified from EF0 to EF5. See the chart to see how they compare.
EF0…Wind speeds 65 to 85 mph
EF1…Wind speeds 86 to 110 mph
EF2…Wind speeds 111 to 135 mph
EF3…Wind speeds 136 to 165 mph
EF4…Wind speeds 166 to 200 mph
EF5…Wind speeds greater than 200 mph
More info… www.alerts.weather.gov
