Tornadoes Are More Powerful Than We Realize

Tuesday's swarm of tornadoes in parts of the Northeast set an October record in Pennsylvania. It was the state's most tornadic day in over 20 years.

(MORE: Big Weather Changes to Expect in October)

As of Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service had confirmed 19 tornadoes, 14 of which tore through Pennsylvania. 

Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

This count could rise, pending results from additional NWS damage surveys and aerial photos from the Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol.

The 14 tornadoes smashed the state's previous October record from Oct. 5, 1979, of four tornadoes, according to the NWS office in State College, Pennsylvania.

Perhaps most stunning was in the 67-year record from 1950 through 2017, only 13 October tornadoes had been documented in the Keystone State, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Pennsylvania's last October tornado was about six years ago, when an EF1 tornado injured 15 in Lancaster County on Oct. 19, 2012.

Tuesday was the state's most tornadic day since June 22, 1998, more than 20 years ago, NWS-State College said. There were only three other days on record with more Pennsylvania tornadoes than Tuesday. 

Thirty-two tornado warnings were issued in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, unlike anything the state had seen in previous Octobers, dating to 1986. 

(MORE: Why Fall Color is Delayed in the East)

Three of the tornadoes were rated EF2, including one near Conneautville that damaged a nursing home and duplex, and another near the Tioga/Lycoming County border that downed hundreds of trees.

In New York on Tuesday, three tornadoes – including an EF0 in Ronkonkoma – were confirmed. According to NOAA records dating to 1950, it was the first October tornado on Long Island. The previous 31 tornadoes in Long Island all occurred between June 1 and Sept. 27.

In Connecticut, two other tornadoes were confirmed from Tuesday. One was an EF1 between New Canaan and Norwalk, which damaged trees and cars.

The 19 confirmed tornadoes in Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut surpasses Nov. 16, 1989 (18 tornadoes) as having the second-most tornadoes in those three states in any single day, according to ustornadoes.com. The only other day with more tornadoes in those states was May 31, 1985, which featured 23 tornadoes.

Nationally, the number of preliminary tornado reports so far this year remains well below the average-to-date, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. 

The NWS reported Wednesday that 34 tornadoes were confirmed from Hurricane Florence.