(National Weather Service)

The National Weather Service has confirmed that an “EF-0” tornado touched down northwest of Myerstown on the late afternoon of Thursday, July 29.

NWS says the twister landed near Houtztown Road at about 5:34 p.m. and lifted west of Kutztown Road about four minutes later. The path length was about 0.75 miles and 60 yards wide.

Video of tornado by John Beck of Myerstown.
Video of tornado by Brandi Gipe of Myerstown.

No injuries, deaths, or significant property damage have been reported.

The Lebanon County Weather Facebook Page reported that there were fallen trees, corn swirls, and other minor damages caused by the tornado.

  • Pieces to an overturned children’s playhouse. All photos in slideshow provided by Greg Horning of Lebanon County Weather.
  • An uprooted tree.
  • Flora damaged by the tornado.
  • Corn crops damaged by the tornado.
  • A tree felled by the tornado.
  • A junked vehicle that was lifted up by the tornado.
  • A porta potty that was knocked over, displaced 40 feet.
  • A tree damaged by the tornado.
  • Lebanon County Weather’s illustration of where various damages occurred.

ABC27 News reported that “several large tornadoes were spotted in the commonwealth” on the same day “including an EF3 tornado confirmed in Bucks county which was the strongest in PA since the Campbelltown tornado in 2004.”

An EF0 tornado is the the lowest intensity tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale used by meteorologists. Classifications are based on the damage caused.

EF0 twisters have winds between 65 and 85 miles per hour and generally cause minor damage. The National Weather Service said this tornado peaked at about 80 mph.

Chris Coyle writes primarily on government, the courts, and business. He retired as an attorney at the end of 2018, after concentrating for nearly four decades on civil and criminal litigation and trials. A career highlight was successfully defending a retired Pennsylvania state trooper who was accused,...