Video shows tornado in Westmoreland County
DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- It's been a spring storm season like no other and the National Weather Service survey team confirmed another tornado touched down in southwestern Pennsylvania.
A regular, rainy Wednesday night for Courtney Thomas and her family got spun around when a tornado blew through Derry Township, Westmoreland County. First it started pouring off and on.
"Then it was very loud, and my husband said, 'hurry up and get downstairs in the basement.' And he looked out the window and it was blowing and raining, and big loud cracks and he saw a tornado, he said he saw it touch down," Thomas said.
Once the tornado got further away, they recorded incredible video of the EF-0 twister touching down along Route 982 in the McChesneytown area of Derry Township.
The National Weather Service Pittsburgh surveyed the damage on Thursday and confirmed the tornado touched around 6:16 p.m. and winds reached 60 to 70 mph. The NWS estimates the tornado was on the ground for about a quarter mile for up to two minutes.
"Just a lot of wind, lot of wind, and a lot of noise on our roof. It sounded like a lot of cracking from the tree. We did lose some shingles on the roof of our house, some tree branches out of the tree, we also had a stick that flew off a tree and broke our kitchen window. So all and all not the best thing we were expecting on a regular Wednesday night but it could have been a whole lot worse," Thomas said.
Thomas said they thought it was just a thunderstorm and they didn't receive alerts.
"I was more shocked than anything, not really scared, but just very shocked. Wasn't something we were expecting whatsoever, there was no alarms or anything that were going off," she said.
A few other people, including viewers and a storm chaser, sent First Alert Meteorologist Ray Petelin videos of funnel clouds around the same time.
Wednesday's tornado was the 12th tornado so far this year in western Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County's third, and its a day the Thomas family will never forget.
"Very interesting because I also collect 'Wizard of Oz,' so my husband says it's all my fault. It's just unbelievable for it being not even June for the crazy weather we've had," Thomas said.
Why has Pittsburgh seen so many tornadoes this year?
Tornado season usually peaks around June in western Pennsylvania, but May has seen several.
NWS Pittsburgh meteorologist Fred McMullen said the lack of cold air this winter plays a big part in why there are so many and why they're so early.
"When you don't have those cold winters and you go into a warm season pretty quickly in spring, you get that moisture up here, you get the wind shear with the system," McMullen told KDKA-TV earlier this month.
He said we're also coming out of El Niño into a La Niña, and that pattern has brought severe weather before.
