At least one fatality has been reported after a historic EF3 tornado, packing winds of 140 mph, ripped a 14-mile-long path through parts of Delaware Saturday. Following a severe weather outbreak that spawned 80 tornadoes Friday across the Midwest and South, another outbreak formed across the Northeast Saturday.
Daniel Bawel, a 79-year-old, died after his home in Greenwood, Delaware, which is located about 25 miles south of Dover, collapsed during the storms Saturday, his family confirmed, ABC6 reported. His wife of 55 years survived.
“They were both just in the house when the tornado hit, and obviously, the house collapsed around them,” the couple’s pastor, John Davis Swartzentruber of Greenwood Mennonite Church, told ABC6. “It’s kind of heartbreaking. This was a homestead. The man who died here grew up here, and so it’s a loss in a lot of ways for the family that was here.”
Bawel was the first tornado-related death in Delaware in 40 years. The last killer tornado to touch down in the state occurred on July 21, 1983, when an EF2 twister touched down in Kent County, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
According to Tornado Archive, which has tornado records dating back to 1680, two additional killer tornadoes have been recorded in Delaware. Those twisters occurred in 1912 and 1888.
Saturday’s twister touched down just before 6 p.m. EDT and was on the ground for 20 minutes. During those 20 minutes, the tornado created widespread damage to several communities. Multiple homes were ripped off their foundations, roofs were blown off homes and barns, and several tractor trailers were blown over.
The damage was consistent with an EF3 tornado, according to the NWS. The agency wrote in its storm survey damage report the twister had estimated peak wind speeds of 140 mph. EF3 tornadoes have wind speeds of 136 to 165 mph.
A security camera video shared by Eric Eldridge on WBOC showed the full fury this storm packed. In mere seconds, Eldridge’s shed was ripped off the ground and torn apart. The video, shared on WBOC, show, shows just how fast the twister created a mess of Eldridge’s backyard.
In a bird’s-eye view, WBOC Chief Meteorologist Dan Satterfield showed the damage Saturday’s twister left behind. From a helicopter, Satterfield pointed out to viewers where the tornado likely started and ended and all the damage in between.
Although this wasn’t the longest-track tornado to ever hit the state, it was the widest. The path width of Saturday’s twister was 700 yards, according to the NWS. Previously, a tornado that touched down during Tropical Storm Isaias, which had a width of 600 yards, held this record.
The longest tornado to touch down in Delaware occurred during Tropical Storm Isaias on Aug. 4, 2020. It carved a 35.5-mile path from Dover to Glasgow and had an intensity of EF2.
According to Tornado Archive, there have been 87 tornadoes to touch down in Delaware since records began in 1680. Of those, only nine have occurred in April.
In addition to Saturday’s powerful EF3 tornado in Delaware, the NWS has also confirmed seven other twisters. There were three EF2 tornadoes and four EF1 twisters that touched down in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
This tally includes the high-end EF2 tornado that touched down in Jackson Township, New Jersey, which is about 24 miles east of Trenton. EF2 tornadoes have wind speeds of 111 to 135 mph. This twister had estimated peak wind speeds of 130 mph.
Damage from tonight’s storm seen in Jackson, New Jersey in this photo provided by the Ocean County Sheriff’s office. Numerous trees and power lines are down.
There are unconfirmed reports of a possible tornado in Howell and Jackson. pic.twitter.com/rxRmS6Zg5U— Shlomo Schorr (@OneJerseySchorr) April 2, 2023
According to the NWS, it was on the ground for 2.1 miles and created an extensive amount of damage to the town.
Saturday’s severe weather outbreak across the Northeast was a part of the massive storm system that unleashed severe weather to the Midwest and South Friday. At least 80 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down Friday, March 31, into the early hours of April 1, 63 of which churned across the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service.
The tally included one preliminary rating of a “low-end” EF4 tornado by the Quad Cities NWS office. The twister tracked from Wapello County into Johnson County, Iowa, with maximum estimated winds around 170 mph. EF4 damage occurred at a farmstead near Keota in Keokuk County, “where a house was swept off the foundation,” the office said.
Produced in association with AccuWeather
