3 tornadoes hit Butler, Lawrence counties during Tuesday's severe storms
Three tornadoes spawned from Tuesday evening's severe storms, hitting communities in Lawrence and Butler counties.
National Weather Service Pittsburgh confirmed that three separate EF-0 tornadoes came from storms that swept through western Pennsylvania around 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. The severe weather prompted multiple tornado warnings in the Pittsburgh region's northern counties.
One tornado touched down near Pulaski Township in Lawrence County, and the other two hit Butler County, south of Moraine State Park's Lake Arthur, the NWS said.
It brings the total number of tornadoes for the Pittsburgh area to 21 this year.
Tornado hits Pulaski Township
When the storms roared over the Ohio state line into Pennsylvania around 7 p.m., the first impact point was in Pulaski Township.
Resident John Hull said he was standing on his front porch when the winds hit. He said the tornado missed him, but everything on his porch went flying.
A few hundred yards away, the gusts didn't miss an old oak tree, ripping it out of the ground, leaving a hole several feet deep. Several other trees were laid low by the winds as well.
Pulaski Township Fire Department Chief Guy Morse said the storms closed down six roads. Crews were still clearing trees by Wednesday morning. Morse said the biggest challenge was how big the trees were.
Still, while the storm caused damage, no one was hurt.
"We're just very grateful to the powers that be that things worked the way they did. Everybody was safe," Morse said.
Butler County records 2 tornadoes
A video posted to social media shows the moment a tornado touched down near Bauder School Road in Portersville.
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed the damage Wednesday and confirmed the tornado after reviewing storm reports and viewing drone footage from KDKA that showed the damage left behind.
"There was no structural damage," said NWS meteorologist Matt Brudy. "We just mainly saw damage related to trees and then obviously in the field behind me, where we had the path going through the vegetation, that's the only non-tree damage we saw."
A few miles away near Harmony, another tornado left its mark on a property along Yellow Creek Road. Drone video shows the path the tornado carved through Jerry Stevenson's property. From above, the damage is easy to see. Trees were uprooted, large branches snapped, shingles ripped from the roof, fencing around a volleyball court torn apart and a duck house destroyed.
"People tell you it sounds like a train," Stevenson said. "It really does; it is scary."
Stevenson said it lasted less than a minute.
"We barely had time to get into the basement," Stevenson said.
Officials in Penn Township, Butler County, said a woman was killed when a large tree limb fell on her while she was working in her yard along Three Degree Road. But police said it wasn't part of any storm damage, since it happened around 5 p.m.
