National Weather Service Confirms 2 EF-1 Tornadoes Touched Down along the Sussex/Kent Line
NWS Damage Survey for July 1st 2021 confirms two Tornadoes…
Farmington DE to Houston DE Tornado…
Rating: EF-1
Estimated Peak Wind: 90 mph
Path Length /statute/: 3.9 miles
Path Width /maximum/: 50 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
Start Date: Jul 01 2021
Start Time: 4:52 PM EDT
Start Location: 1 North of Farmington DE
Start Lat/Lon: 38.8892 / -75.5826
End Date: Jul 01 2021
End Time: 4:55 PM EDT
End Location: 1 SSW of Houston DE
End Lat/Lon: 38.9032 / -75.5133
On Thursday afternoon, July 1st, 2021, a broken line of severe thunderstorms moved into Delaware from the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. An embedded severe thunderstorm interacted with a sea breeze and remnant outflow boundary, generating a tornado that produced intermittent wind damage along a 3.9 mile path from Farmington to Houston, Delaware.
Wind damage was first observed near a residence on Farmington Road, knocking down and snapping several trees in a narrow swath. The tornado then continued over railroad tracks and a cornfield, where a notable convergent pattern was observed. From there, the tornado proceeded eastward toward the South DuPont Highway, but not before causing damage to a business where metal roofing was peeled off. Several snapped trees were also noted on the property.
Subsequently, the tornado crossed Gun and Rod Club Road where another area of trees were downed, with numerous branches across the roadway. South of Williamsville Road along Hogtown Road, a residence was damaged when a tree fell on to the roof. On the other side of the road, a corn field was present with a notable divergent pattern observed. This damage, south of the tornado track, was likely due to a RFD surge. The tornado then crossed a large wooded area with damage again observed to a property on the east side of the wooded area along Hunting Quarter Road. Numerous trees were snapped on the property with damage also occurring to a house due to a downed tree limb. Power lines were also knocked down. Debris was then lofted towards a farm across Hunting Quarter Road. The tornado then weakened and lifted just west of Deep Grass Lane with only a few down branches being noted.
Milford DE to Slaughter Beach DE Tornado…
Rating: EF-1
Estimated Peak Wind: 90 mph
Path Length /statute/: 4.77 miles
Path Width /maximum/: 100 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
Start Date: Jul 01 2021
Start Time: 5:00 PM EDT
Start Location: 2 ENE Milford DE
Start Lat/Lon: 38.9209 / -75.3898
End Date: Jul 01 2021
End Time: 5:07 PM EDT
End Location: Slaughter Beach
End Lat/Lon: 38.9119 / -75.3031
On Thursday afternoon, July 1st, 2021, a broken line of severe thunderstorms moved into Delaware from the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. An embedded severe thunderstorm interacted with a sea breeze and remnant outflow boundary, which generated the first tornado near Farmington, DE. The severe thunderstorm then produced another distinct tornado to the east along a 4.77 mile path from just east of Milford to Slaughter Beach, Delaware.
Damage was first observed near residences at the Cedar Beach Road and McColley Road intersection. Here, several large branches and trees were snapped. Further east along Cedar Beach Road, more tree damage occurred across several residences with a couple of trees having been uprooted. The tornado then uplifted part of a porch roof to a residence on Shockley Road. Insulation that was underneath the roof was blown across Shockley Road and adhered to nearby homes. Insulation was also noted on all sides of the affected residence. At the intersection of Shockley and Cedar Neck Roads, a residence also had a large television antenna that was bent 180 degrees down towards the ground. Further east on Mills Road, another residence observed multiple trees that were snapped. One large branch fell on an outdoor shed causing it to collapse, with other large branches falling on vehicles causing window damage. Towards Fannies Way, additional EF-1 damage was noted with a majority of roofing material lost to a pole barn along with two enclosed trailers being overturned. Roofing material from the pole barn along with tree branches were observed in the adjacent corn field. The tornado then moved eastward into marshland and proceeded towards the intersection of Bay Avenue and Slaughter Beach Road. Another pole barn lost a majority of roofing at the intersection with a small trailer having been overturned. Smaller tree branches were then snapped as the tornado lifted near the Delaware coastline. Interestingly, a nearby DEOS mesonet site measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph near this endpoint.
The National Weather Service thanks Sussex County`s Office of Emergency Management, the media, our SKYWARN spotters, and the public for their assistance in identifying damaged areas.
NOTE:
The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the events and publication in NWS
Storm Data.
