The National Weather Service will send a survey crew to Parker, Armstrong County, Monday morning to determine whether a tornado touched down there on Sunday evening.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Jared Rackley said the crew will look for damage caused by a severe storm Sunday that ripped the side off a large metal building, damaged roofing and took down trees.
By looking at the damage pattern -- how the debris field is scattered; whether the trees are twisted -- the crews will be able to tell if it was a tornado, Mr. Rackley said. And by looking at the size of trees that were uprooted or snapped, the crews can gauge wind speed.
A tornado warning was issued Sunday at 5:20 p.m. for areas of Venango, Butler, Armstrong and Clarion counties, Mr. Rackley said, and an update was sent at 6:14 p.m. extending the warning until 6:45.
Tornadoes in this area at this time of year aren't unusual, the meteorologist said, but "they're not super common either.
"Today, the ingredients were all kind of there that things started to spin," Mr. Rackley said.
The damage, he said, seemed to have been worst in Parker.
As for rainfall, the hardest hit areas on Sunday were central West Virginia, but the Pittsburgh area has a chance for a lot of thunderstorm activity from overnight Sunday through Thursday.
"These won't all be washouts," he said, but the area should expect rain.
First Published: June 17, 2019, 3:22 a.m.