Pennsylvania Seeing Large Increase In Tornadoes This Year

When an EF1 tornado touched down briefly in Butler and Armstrong counties in southwestern Pennsylvania Sunday, it was the 32nd tornado confirmed in the state thus far in 2019. That's more than twice the annual average of 16 in Pennsylvania, with several months still to go before the tornado season quiets down.

To put that number further in perspective, there were 32 tornadoes in the state in all of 2018 - and last year tied with 1992 for the third-highest incidents of tornadic activity since 1950. Meteorologists have been unable to definitively explain the reason for the increase.

Pennsylvania gets a relatively small percentage of the average 1,253 tornadoes that occur in the United States.According to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, Texas averages the most annually with 155, followed by Nebraska (96), Florida (66) and Oklahoma (62).

But even though tornadoes are much more uncommon here than in the Midwest or South, the last two years have seen a significant upswing in the number of twisters in Pennsylvania. Given that summer hasn't even officially arrived, there's a chance the record number of tornadoes - 61 set in 1998 - could be approached or topped. Almost certainly, this year will top the second-most active year for tornadoes, 1985 when 34 occurred.

Indiana County in western Pennsylvania has had the most twisters in the state with three. Other counties where they have touched down are Mercer, Butler, Armstrong, Crawford, Venango, Warren, Union, Columbia, Sullivan, Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Fulton, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Bucks, Lehigh, Lancaster, Cambria, Bradfor, Berks, Perry, Dauphin and Wyoming.

The strongest registered were EF2 tornadoes, which carry maximum winds of 120 mph. They were reported in Warren, Columbia, Franklin and Berks counties.