Tornado with 116 mph winds touched down in Centre County over weekend, NWS confirms
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- An EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 116 mph touched down in Centre County.
- The tornado tracked about 1.16 miles near state Route 879 and lasted roughly four minutes.
- No injuries or deaths were reported from the Centre County tornado, the NWS said.
A tornado touched down in northern Centre County over the weekend as strong storms blew through the area.
An EF-1 tornado damaged trees, knocked down power lines and blew off part of a roof about 2 miles south of Pine Glen just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service’s State College forecast office said. Data recorded from the storm suggest winds peaked at 116 mph as the tornado moved along a 1.16-mile path near state Route 879 in roughly 4 minutes.
No injuries or deaths were reported, the NWS said.
The NWS confirmed Centre County’s tornado in a public information statement released late Monday night. The report, which contains preliminary information pending final review, says the agency found evidence of another EF-1 tornado in Warren County and an EF-0 tornado in Potter County.
Additionally, the NWS’s Pittsburgh office confirmed an EF-1 tornado and a separate EF-0 tornado in Butler County produced from Sunday’s storms.
Two teams of State College-based NWS staff dispatched Monday to survey damage produced by strong storms in Centre, Clearfield, Potter and Warren counties. Other agency workers evaluated damage in Lancaster and York counties, from which results are still pending.
“Thank you to the Pine Glen Fire Company for their assistance in navigating the team, providing locations of damage to document, and transportation to damage sites,” the NWS office wrote in a statement.
The weekend storm produced the first tornado confirmed in Centre County since an EF-1 twister rumbled near Zion in July 2023, damaging trees in a forested area over a roughly 5-minute duration. A powerful band of severe storms called a “derecho” blew through the area in April 2025, but the widespread damages and power outages were not caused by tornadoes.
Though tornadoes are more commonly associated with North America’s central plains, roughly 15 are recorded in Pennsylvania each year, a NWS forecaster said.
The Enhanced Fujita scale, or EF scale, categorizes tornadoes with ratings based on estimated wind speeds and related damage. The scale ranges from EF-0 to EF-5, the latter of which is assigned to tornadoes producing winds exceeding 200 mph. EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes are considered “weak,” according to the NWS.
When tornadoes occur, the NWS urges the public to seek shelter in a low-lying place such as a basement or interior rooms with few or no windows. It is critical to stay away from doors, windows and outside walls and protect your head, the agency says. Do not wait until you see or hear a tornado, as they can be obscured by rainfall or arrive at night.
Be sure to look out for tornado watches and warnings issued by the NWS. The agency will issue a tornado watch when conditions are favorable for tornado development, while tornado warnings signal that a developing tornado has been detected by radar or credibly reported.
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