FRENCH CREEK TOWNSHIP — The National Weather Service rarely conducts tornado surveys in the snow.
In fact, Fred McMullen, a meteorologist from the weather service Pittsburgh office, said Tuesday’s storm was just the sixth recorded January tornado in Pennsylvania since record-keeping began in the early 1950s.
“This time of year we’re usually thinking salt and snow shovels,” McMullen said. “Not cleaning up tornadoes.”
According to NWS Pittsburgh, the tornado touched down just north of New Lebanon near Mercer Street (State Route 173). It then traveled 2.8 miles northeast into French Creek Township where it dissipated near Donation Road. The F1 twister – the weakest of tornado classes – had peak winds of 95 miles per hour and was roughly 400 yards wide.
“(The tornado) wasn’t that long,” McMullen said. “Mercer County has seen the full spectrum when it comes to storms, but most tornadoes in this area tend to be weaker.”
No one was killed or injured by Tuesday’s storm, but Cochranton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Schell said his crew was called out to roughly a dozen locations for reports of damages.
“(French Creek) is a mostly very rural area,” Schell said. “Most of the damage was just to the forest itself, but there were probably about four or five structures damaged – some severe, some minor.”
One of the severe structure damages occurred when a tree uprooted and landed on a home near New Lebanon.
“Our main concern was just tracking people down,” Schell said. “We’re very fortunate no one was hurt.”
Schell credited Utica Fire Department and road crews from French Creek Township for helping with the cleanup.
“It was a real group effort,” he said.
As the French Creek area cleaned up from Tuesday’s storm, snowfall continued to accumulate Wednesday throughout the county.
Road crews in Mercer began clearing roughly three inches of snow at about 1 p.m.
“It’s unusual, but in a way you do expect it,” said Debbie Sarvis, Mercer’s administrator, treasurer and secretary. “We’re always prepared for the change in weather.”
One truck takes an average of about eight hours to plow and salt the entire borough, and a borough ordinance requires people to abandon on-street parking after two inches of snow for the plows to work on the entire road system.
“It lets the crews do a better job on the street because it can be time consuming trying to get around,” Sarvis said. “But it can also cause people to be plowed in and not be able to get in their cars if there’s snow piled up.”
Snowfall started in Grove City late Wednesday morning, bringing occasional whiteout conditions through the afternoon.
Several inches piled up quickly, and borough employees manning seven trucks kept busy salting and plowing, said borough Manager Vance Oakes.
“Our salt barn is full at the moment,” he said of the borough’s current supply of 1,000 tons.
Grove City crews maintain all roads in the borough’s boundaries, including state roads, during winter weather through an agreement with PennDOT, he said.
Oakes reminded residents that they have 24 hours after the snow stops to clear their sidewalks.
As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, Grove City police said they didn’t have any reports of weather-related accidents or incidents.
by Herald Staff Reports (2019, Jan 10) The Herald
