Severe Weather

First February Tornado on Record in Massachusetts; Tornadoes Tear Through Pennsylvania, Maryland

At a Glance

Severe thunderstorms raced through parts of the Great Lakes and East Feb. 24-25, 2017.
The heaviest damage was near Scranton, Pennsylvania, from an EF2 tornado in the area.
The first February tornado on record was confirmed in Massachusetts.
The northern extent of severe weather was quite unusual for late February.

At least four tornadoes, one a February first on record in Massachusetts, tore through parts of the Northeast on February 25, 2017, also spawning damaging straight-line winds as far north as the Canadian border.

(MORE: Tornado Central)

An EF2 tornado damaged about 30 homes in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties in Pennsylvania, near Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, on Feb. 25.

The National Weather Service (NWS) survey team from Binghamton, New York, said this tornado had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and was on the ground for 12.8 miles. Over a thousand trees were knocked down along its path.

In southern Pennsylvania, an EF1 tornado tore a four-mile path in York County.

Straight-line winds estimated to 95 mph collapsed farm buildings in Lancaster County.

NWS-Boston confirmed an EF1 tornado near Conway, Massachusetts, about 85 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 110 mph, which created a small, but concentrated area of structural damage to homes in this area. One injury occurred when a tree landed on a house.

NWS-Baltimore/Washington D.C. also confirmed an EF1 tornado near La Plata and Waldorf, Maryland, about 20 miles southeast of Washington D.C. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 90 mph. The damage was along an 8.4-mile path.

In all, roughly 170 reports of severe weather, mainly damaging winds and large hail, were reported to the National Weather Service from the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Tennessee Valley on Feb. 24 to the Northeast the following day.

Preliminary severe reports from Feb. 25, 2017 in the East. — Preliminary severe weather reports from February 25, 2017, in the East. (Note: Any tornadoes subsequently confirmed by NWS damage surveys will not plot, here.)
(NOAA/NWS/SPC)

Friday into early Saturday, reports of damaging wind gusts and large hail stretched from Michigan to northern Georgia. Numerous reports of one-inch-diameter hail were received, and 1.5-inch-diameter hail was observed in McBain, Michigan. Trees were downed by strong wind gusts, and 60-mph gusts were measured near Henryville, Indiana, and near Newark, Ohio, with a 61-mph gust recorded near Knoxville, Tennessee.

By late Saturday, a surge of damaging winds reached as far north as the Canadian/New York border. Reports of large hail, some accumulating several inches, came in from Virginia, Pennsylvania and much of the mid-Atlantic. A wind gust of 69 mph was reported in Orange County, New York.

How Unusual Was This?

It is not rare to see a more spring-like low-pressure system to develop at the end of February.

In the "possible" lighter red are locations that have a 0.10 percent probability of a tornado within 25 miles of a point by late February. The "most likely" darker red shading is for locations that have a 0.20 percent probability of a tornado within 25 miles of a point by late February. Based on 1982-2011 averages.
(NOAA/Storm Prediction Center)

However, as the map above illustrates, the typical severe threat, illustrated by a tornado threat, is typically pinned to the Deep South, only occasionally migrating into the Ohio Valley.

(MORE: Tornadoes in February)

The four confirmed tornadoes – in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Massachusetts – are exceedingly rare for February.

The Conway, Massachusetts, tornado was the first February tornado on record in the state, dating to 1950.

However, NCEI Storm Data does list a March 1, 1966, F2 tornado in Berkshire County, as well as a pair of December tornadoes in 1956 and 1951, both on Dec. 18 of those years.

Prior to this event, there had been only four February tornadoes since 1950 in Pennsylvania. Two of those occurred in Bradford and Lancaster County just one year ago, almost to the day.

February severe weather in the northernmost reaches of the threat area, while not unprecedented, is quite rare.

Before Feb. 24, 2017, there hadn't been a single report of severe weather during the month of February in the state of Michigan in 11 years, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information Storm Data.

In records dating to 1950, there had been only six February days with severe weather in Michigan, including only one tornado, a brief F2 in 1974.

There were three reports of thunderstorm wind damage on Feb. 25 in the St. Lawrence River Valley of upstate New York, near the Canadian border.

According to NCEI Storm Data, these were the farthest north February severe weather reports on record in New York state, dating to 1950.

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