DOUGLASSVILLE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado touched down in Berks County on Tuesday, after surveying storm damage throughout the area.
Officials say the EF-0 tornado touched down at 4:47 p.m. in Amity Township, with peak winds up to 70 mph.
High winds uprooted trees and littered yards with branches and leaves near Weavertown and Limekiln roads.
“The winds crosswise were blowing heavier than I’ve seen in a while. They were blowing pretty strong,” said Steve of Douglassville. He and his wife Carol took shelter in their basement after getting a tornado alert on their cellphones.
“We actually had a couple over for a visit and all of our phones went off,” said Carol. “We laughed about it like we always do and then we go, ‘Well, we do have a basement to go to, so we’ll just go downstairs.’”
Their property was undamaged, but a tree was knocked down right across the street from their house.
“It’s a little creepy,” Steve said. “Tornadoes are scary. I don’t know why it’s like that spinning force.”
The couple have lost three trees so far this year. “Just from winds,” said Steve, “and I guess because the ground is so saturated with the rain so we’re in the process of cutting them up still.”
No storm-related injuries have been reported.