Philadelphia tornadoes: Number has increased by 1,000 percent across region
PHILADELPHIA - Hurricanes? Sure. Blizzards? Of course! Tornadoes? Not typically on the list for the Delaware Valley.
However, in the last five years, the region has experienced a drastic uptick.
The number of tornadoes across southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware and South Jersey has increased by 1,000 percent.
From 2014 to 2018, just six tornadoes popped up in those areas.
So how many have we had since 2019? 64!
FOX 29's Drew Anderson says to give that extreme jump more context, we have to look further back.
In the decade leading up to 2019, there were 16 tornadoes. The decade before that saw 17.
Those numbers average out to eight tornadoes over a five-year period. But, since 2019, we've had eight times that average.
While jarring, the recent local increase follows national trends as tornadoes shift more east.
Nearly 100 tornado warnings were issued in the US on Friday
An outbreak of powerful tornadoes swept across the Plains on Friday, and many of the same areas are still under the threat of severe weather this weekend.
Tornadoes are increasing in parts of the Midwest and South, while declining in the central Plains - the traditional Tornado Alley area.
As for the Delaware Valley, the biggest increase in tornadoes has been in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Burlington County, New Jersey.
Since 2019, there have been 12 tornadoes in Bucks County, and 10 in Burlington County.
Tornado outbreak: NWS report reveals new details about 9 tornadoes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey
The Bensalem Township tornado had 140 mph winds and the path of destruction was three and a half miles long. The tornado was 530 yards wide, which equals more than five football fields, according to the report.
Ocean County and Mercer County have also seen a lot of tornadoes in the last five years: eight in Ocean County and seven in Mercer County.
Climate scientists expect the eastward tornado increase to continue, anticipating that on the days we get tornadoes, we'll get more of them.