Has a tornado reached Dauphin County? Weather service to investigate
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Has a tornado reached Dauphin County? Weather service to investigate

August 9, 2024

The National Weather Service will investigate whether a tornado touched down in Dauphin County Friday morning as the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby moved through central Pennsylvania.

A tornado warning was issued at 6:23 a.m. and will remain in effect until 2:00 p.m. for the region that includes Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties.

As thunderstorms and heavy rain hit the region, many trees were downed in and around Harrisburg, including in an area along Derry Street and in the Harrisburg neighborhood of Bellevue, near Harrisburg High School.

Residents in the area speculated on social media that the damage may have been caused by a tornado.

The Dauphin County Emergency Operations Center told PennLive they received numerous reports of road closures due to downed trees and power lines in Penbrook Friday morning. The roof of the Brethren in Christ Church on Derry Street was ripped off.

PPL reported 4,700 people without power in Dauphin County as of Friday afternoon, with outages particularly severe in Penbrook and Paxtang.

The National Weather Service is expected to conduct a damage survey in the area to determine if a tornado touched down. “There was thunderstorm damage, but without the survey we cannot say if it was a tornado or not,” the National Weather Service told PennLive.

A flood warning has been issued for several counties, including Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry. The warning will remain in effect through Friday night.

Since noon, the following roads in Cumberland County have been closed due to flooding:

  • East Pennsboro Township: 200 block of Creekside Drive
  • Hampden Township: Good Hope Road from Shasta Way to Creekview Road
  • North Newton Township: 500 block of Springfield Road
  • Monroe Township: Stumpstown/Williams Grove and Lisburn Roads (intersection)
  • Lower Allen Township: Lower Allen Drive past the shopping center.
  • Upper Allen Township: McCormick Road in the 500, 1100 and 2400 blocks; Grantham Road in the 600 block.

Road closures are also reported in parts of Dauphin and York counties.

Do not attempt to drive through flood water.