Tornado confirmed in Elrama
Courtesy of Lori Shoemaker
A tornado touched down in Elrama on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
In a post to Facebook on Saturday, the NWS stated that it was an EF0 tornado that traveled about six miles from Elrama to the eastern parts of Elizabeth. The EF scale uses wind speed to determine a tornado’s strength.
According to the NWS, the tornado reached speeds of about 80 mph and left several gaps in damage along its sporadic path.
Lenny Bailey, chief of the Elrama Fire Department, said they were alerted of the tornado at about 3 p.m.
“We didn’t get the call until after it happened,” Bailey said.
According to Bailey, damage from the storm was mostly concentrated in the areas of Elrama and Circle avenues. Homes were damaged but not destroyed. The storm ripped shingles and siding off of houses.
“There were wires down … It blew people’s lawn furniture over, blew people’s fences over,” Bailey said. “It came right through the center of town.”
Lori Shoemaker was not home as the tornado hit her property in Elrama. She received a call from a neighbor informing her of damage to her porch.
“My neighbor called me and told me that my porch furniture was all laying in the street. My grill was down in my yard. My porch railing was destroyed,” Shoemaker said.
No injuries were reported.
The tornado in Elrama was one of five tornadoes that swept through the region Friday. The worst of these was an EF1 tornado in Highland Park, Pittsburgh. That tornado reached speeds of 105 mph and knocked down multiple trees, including one that fell on a vehicle in the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Zoo.
There were also tornadoes confirmed in Harrison City, Leesville Lake, Ohio, and at the Allegheny County Airport.
According to NWS Pittsburgh, with Friday’s tornadoes, there have now been 14 tornadoes in their warning area this month. This passes the previous record of 11 for May tornadoes, set in 1985.
“This isn’t a record we want to break, but we’re glad they weren’t as strong,” The NWS posted to Facebook.