Winds Reached 115 MPH During Tornado That Hit Oxford In Chester County Wednesday

OXFORD, PA — The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado the hit Oxford, Pennsylvania on Wednesday was more intense than reported at first and upgraded it from EF-1 to EF-2.

The NWS initially confirmed an EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds up to 95 miles per hour has touched down in Oxford.

The NWS office in Mount Holly, New Jersey said on Friday it has conducted several storm surveys for damage from storms on Wednesday in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

On Friday afternoon, an update on a series of Sept. 1 tornadoes said due to additional information, the NWS had upgraded the rating for the Oxford tornado.

NWS confirmed an EF-2 tornado with estimated peak winds up to 115 miles per hour in Oxford on Sept. 1.

How does a survey work to determine how bad a tornado was? The Enhanced Fujita Scale or EF Scale is used to assign a tornado a 'rating' based on estimated wind speeds and related damage, the NWS website explained. When tornado-related damage is surveyed, it is compared to a list of Damage Indicators and Degrees of Damage that help surveyors to estimate the range of wind speeds the tornado likely produced. From that, a rating (from EF0 to EF5) is assigned.

An EF-2 tornado has winds over 110 and up to 135 miles per hour. EF-5 tornadoes have winds over 200 miles per hour.

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