The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado that struck parts of Bensalem Township and caused serious damage Thursday evening was an EF3.
Using the Enhanced Fujita scale, forecasters who surveyed the damage Friday said the winds were in the 136 to 165 mph range.
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The Washington Post reported the EF3 twister was the worst to hit Pennsylvania since one of similar scale hit Campbelltown in Lebanon County in 2004.
Thursday’s tornado was the worst ever reported in Bucks County, according to records that go back to 1950.
The scale runs from EF0 to the most serious EF5. EF3s account for only about 2.2 percent of all tornadoes.
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While six people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the storm, the tornado did cause severe damage to the Faulkner auto dealership along Street Road, including a building collapse, and to the Penn Valley Terrace mobile home community behind the dealership. There was also damage to nearby shopping centers and some additional neighborhoods.
“And just like that, it was gone,” Fred Harran, Bensalem Township’s public safety director, said of the tornado.
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Crews were at work securing hazards, clearing downed trees, and removing debris Friday.
American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania spokesperson Dave Skutnik said the organization was assisting several residents. Some residents were being assisted at Neshaminy High School in Middletown Township, which sits about two miles from the epicenter of the damage.
A second tornado hit parts of central and upper Bucks County Thursday evening, but details on that storm were not immediately released.
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Last summer, an EF2 tornado with 115 mph winds started in Northeast Philadelphia, caused some damage in Bensalem Township, then moved on to Upper Southampton, and caused significant damage to a busy daycare and homes in Doylestown Township.
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