Tornado strength winds confirmed in Delaware Valley

PHILADELPHIA - Wednesday, the National Weather service reported that thunderstorm wind gusts in Delaware and New Castle counties Monday reached tornado strength.

Winds peaked at 95 MPH in parts of Delaware County, particularly around Concordville, which is near the Glens Mills area. Those thunderstorm wind gusts uprooted some large trees and snapped parts of other trees. The Chadds Ford area also had a large number of uprooted trees. Winds there reached 90 MPH.

Those 90 and 100 MPH winds are the speed of an EF1 tornado, which is why it looked like tornado damage.

The straight-line thunderstorm wind gusts in parts of Delaware were nearly as strong as an EF2 tornado. An EF2 has a minimum wind speed of 111 MPH.

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Winds from Monday's storms in the Hockessin area of New Castle County reached 110 MPH.

When wind gusts get that strong, they start snapping trees, often near the trunk. The National Weather Service reported that 15-20 trees were snapped in that Delaware area.

Learn more how straight-line winds work and why damage from thunderstorms is in straight line in a demo at 13:50 in our severe weather special.