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The tornado that hit Bucks and Montgomery Counties had a surprise for investigators

The twister traveled close to 9 miles, more than quadruple the average for a tornado.

Pedro Ponce deLeon (left) and Mike Smith (right) remove debris from a fallen tree as people sift through some of the damage caused by the tornado in Hidden Springs, Franconia Township.
Pedro Ponce deLeon (left) and Mike Smith (right) remove debris from a fallen tree as people sift through some of the damage caused by the tornado in Hidden Springs, Franconia Township.Read moreFor The Inquirer
    by Anthony R. Wood
    Updated 
    Published 

When National Weather Service investigators examined the damage path of the Fred-inspired tornado that started in Montgomery County and crossed into Bucks, this wasn’t quite what they anticipated.

“They expected to find a long path,” said Brian Haines, the science and information officer in the Mount Holly office. But not this long: It traveled close to nine miles — more than four times farther than the average tornado — after touching down in Hatfield Township and dissipating 15 minutes later in Hilltown Township near the Bedminster Township border.

Given the initial damage reports, the length was a surprise, Haines said. Investigators kept finding further evidence that lengthened the documented trail. The twister, with a ground width of about 140 yards, was rated an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with peak winds of 105 mph. (The scale runs from 0 to 5, with 5 packing the greatest gusts.)

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No one was injured, but 18 to 20 homes incurred some damage, said Steve Coll, a fire official who was part of the survey team.

The tornado brought down several trees in the Hidden Springs mobile-home community and ripped roofing off an auto-repair shop in Hilltown Township.

“It’s really good there wasn’t more property damage,” said Haines. And while it was a significant tree-killer, “They’ll grow back. You can’t bring back someone’s life.”

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The agency also verified tornadoes in Berks County and Morris County, N.J.

During the supercell thunderstorm outbreak on July 29, a total of 10 tornadoes were confirmed in the office’s coverage area, consisting of Delaware and most of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

This article contains a correction. The tornado’s path ended in Hilltown Township near the Bedminister Township border.