National Weather Service Confirms Tornadoes In Eighty Four, West Mifflin
EIGHTY FOUR (KDKA) -- The storms that hit communities in Allegheny and Washington counties were confirmed as tornadoes by the National Weather Service.
Officials surveyed the damage in Eighty Four and West Mifflin and both storms were determined to be EF0 tornadoes.
In Eighty Four, winds reached a maximum speed of 85 mph and 75 mph in West Mifflin.
As residents and business owners in Washington County begin to clean up and assess the damage from Thursday's severe weather, they're thankful that the storm went just as quickly as it came.
KDKA's Bob Allen Reports:
Cell phone video of a funnel cloud is what prompted the National Weather Service to plan a trip to Eighty Four, Washington County. But the funnel didn't stick around for very long.
Today Rebecca Cribbs with the Greater Washington County Food Bank showed KDKA's Heather Abraham more proof of that.
"And just like that. That was it," she said. "Our cameras went out and everything."
Cribbs says she and a coworker were wrapping up for the day but decided to wait out the rain.
"The power went out," Cribbs added. "It was like a flash of light, and then everything went black."
What's amazing is the damage in Eighty Four appears to span just over 100 yards.
The day after, crews were working on a roof that was partially damaged. But there was plenty of debris still lying on the ground, like a knocked over sign and limbs torn from trees.
Regardless of how contained the damage was, the people who were there are pretty adamant about they saw.
"That's when I saw the twister and trees were flying everywhere," said Rodney Holub, of Eighty Four. "It was awesome. No one was hurt that was the big thing."
Holub says a shed, which was bolted to the ground, blew right off and landed on the roadway in the seconds the storm showed itself. But says he's not complaining.
"Very minimal damage," he said. "This isn't bad. It could have been a lot worse."
RELATED LINKS:
Strong Storms Hit Local Communities, Leave Behind Damage (9/28/12)
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