New Hope Tornado Path: See Detailed Findings On Thursday's Storm

NEW HOPE, PA — Five tornadoes swept the Philadelphia region Thursday, according to findings by the National Weather Service.

The NWS said the tornado that downed trees and took out power lines in New Hope was an EF2 tornado — a rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale marked by considerable damage and wind speeds between 111 and 135 mph.

No one was injured, and there were no fatalities. The NWS said this tornado's wind speeds reached 120 mph, and that it traveled 6.4 miles with a path width of 400 yards.

The tornado in New Hope appears to have been produced from the same supercell storm that produced the Plumstead Township tornado.

Read the NWS findings:

Tree damage began near River Rd just west of the Delaware River, with a portion of River Rd closed and impassable due to downed trees. The tornado crossed the Delaware River and entered Mercer County, New Jersey, in the area of Washington Crossing. Multiple reports of residential tree damage were received from Washington Crossing, and the survey team observed tree damage along River Rd on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River.

From there, the tornado continued southeast and crossed Pleasant Valley Rd. The first indications of EF2 damage came on that road, with numerous large hardwood and softwood trees snapped, sheared, and/or uprooted. The tornado continued southeastward and crossed through Baldpate Mountain. Continued heavy tree damage was observed in this area. An access road to the top of the mountain was barely passable when the survey team reached it in late afternoon, after many hours of tree clearing work by local parks officials and private companies. Hundreds of trees were snapped or damaged on this mountain. Damage continued down the mountain through Fiddlers Creek Rd and Church Rd. The tornado path then crossed Washington Crossing State Park. Further damage was observed just southeast along Bear Tavern Rd. In fact, some of the largest downed trees were observed in this area.

However, by this point damage became increasingly unidirectional as the storm's rear flank downdraft likely wrapped around the tornadic circulation. Sufficient evidence of tornadic winds still existed in the Bear Tavern Rd area, but it is estimated the tornado lifted soon after, shortly before entering much more densely populated areas near the Trenton Mercer Airport.

Tornadic storms of this magnitude are rare in Bucks County; an EF3 tornado that ripped through Bensalem did significant damage to homes and buildings, the like of which hasn't been seen in the region for more than 30 years.

Read more about the region's storms and the NWS investigation here.

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