Allentown tornado was an EF1, with winds at 100 mph

“One home had a front porch awning taken off the east side of the house, lofted, then landed about 100 feet away in the backyard of a house two doors down. ”

A tornado that touched down in an east Allentown neighborhood Monday evening was an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with 100 mph winds, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.

An EF1 is the second lowest classification on the scale, for winds between 86 and 110 mph.

The weather service provided additional details on the path of the tornado, which touched down at 7:21 p.m. Monday near East Pennsylvania Street between North Ulster and North Van Buren streets in the Midway Manor neighborhood.

“At this location, damage to the roof of a church and a neighboring shed was seen with multiple shingles removed and displaced. A large hardwood tree was also uprooted in this area, falling to the north as it was uprooted,” the weather service said.

The twister then traveled northeast toward East Lily Street and North Wahneta Street, downing trees. As it crossed North Wahneta Street, it caused more significant damage, including knocking a shed off its foundation and tossing it 50 feet. Multiple trees were uprooted or snapped in the area.

The tornado continued traveling northeast, and reached its maximum intensity and width, around 160 yards, as it crossed East Fairmont Street. The greatest damage was along the west side of Club Avenue, where multiple homes lost 30%-50% of their roof covering, according to the weather service.

“One home had a front porch awning taken off the east side of the house, lofted, then landed about 100 feet away in the backyard of a house two doors down. Additionally, damaged crops in the backyard of a home were fallen in a manner consistent with a convergent wind pattern,” the weather service said.

The tornado began to weaken as it crossed Club Avenue and into Bethlehem, and dissipated as it approached Pennsylvania Avenue.

In all, the tornado was on the ground for about 500 yards. No injuries were reported.

It was the second tornado to form in the Lehigh Valley this summer. An EF0 tornado, the lowest classification, went through the Martins Creek area in Northampton County on June 26.

It was also the second EF1 tornado to touch down in east Allentown in recent years. In September 2008, the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna spawned a twister with 95 mph winds that caused damage to Dieruff High School.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Lehigh Valley residents remained without power Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, PPL listed about 3,000 people in the Lehigh Valley without power. MetEd listed about 600 people without power in Northampton County. By Wednesday afternoon, about 1,600 people were without power between both providers.

At one point following the storms Monday, more than 36,000 residents did not have power.

A PPL spokesperson said the company brought additional crews from mutual assistance to help in the restoration efforts.