BLAIRSVILLE, PA. — The storms that rolled through Indiana County early Sunday afternoon produced an EF-1 tornado, according to the National Weather Service.
“[It] was definitely something to experience,” said Joseph Canton, who lives in Blairsville.
He said it all happened in an instant.
PHOTOS: Strong winds, severe storms blast Western Pennsylvania
“Dark skies, a little bit of debris, and bad wind, that was it. No really big rain or nothing like that,” Canton told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek. “I started hearing that freight train typical sound you get coming off the mountain off the back side over here, and I looked out the window and it really picked up steam with wind. Everything was blowing bad, and the building started disappearing pretty much. Quick in and out within about 20 seconds.”
Most of the damage on Canton’s property was to a dry storage building that his family used to use as a turkey farm.
“We just got it done last year too, because a storm passed through,” he said, noting the second time the building has been damaged by weather.
He said about 30 trees on his property were uprooted or damaged.
“It’s gonna take us a few days, but we’ve got the chainsaws, so we’ll make it happen,” Canton said.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh sent out two teams to survey damage. One crew stopped first in Derry Township, Westmoreland County.
“It was a very large squall line that came through yesterday just afternoon so there’s damage kind of all up and down through Westmoreland, Indiana and even into Armstrong County,” said Jared Rackley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. “We’re looking at the uproots, which indicates really strong winds, and then we’re looking at things like whether the trees are converging in a pattern or if they’re all down in the same way.”
Another place Rackley stopped to survey damage was the Yellow Creek State Park. He said the tree damage there was caused by straight-line winds, not a tornado.
The tornado in Blairsville marks the first tornado in Indiana County since June 26, 2024.
Canton said he’s going to get the dry storage building on his property rebuilt. He’s thankful nobody was hurt.
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