Severe weather
Possible tornado photographed west of Wilmington, Delaware, Thursday afternoon
By Ryan Hall, Y'all Weather Desk ยท Published
Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data.
Key points
- Where: just west of Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. Spotters reported damage at Woodshade, Eastburn Heights and around Christiana Hospital.
- When: the spotter reports came in from 1:05 to 1:14 PM Eastern, and the Tornado Warning ran 1:14 to 1:45 PM.
- What: a photographed possible tornado, with trees, wires and minor house damage reported. Each spotter report was marked "tornado probable."
- What it means now: the severe threat has moved northeast. Southeastern Pennsylvania and southern and central New Jersey are in a Level 2 of 5 (Slight Risk) for the rest of the afternoon.
What appears to be a tornado was photographed just west of Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 12. A Tornado Warning was in effect for Wilmington, Wilmington Manor and Elsmere from 1:14 to 1:45 PM Eastern. Trained spotters in New Castle County reported trees and wires down and minor house damage from 1:05 to 1:14 PM Eastern, before or as the warning was issued. No official tornado report or storm survey has been released yet, so the strength and path of this possible tornado aren't known.
What the photo shows
Philly Storm Chaser Mark (@DJonesBagOBones) shot this from his office window. He posted at 2:06 PM Eastern that the tornado "dropped just west of Wilmington." You can find more of his work on his YouTube channel, youtube.com/@dopplerdick9799. Photo credit goes to him.
A photo and a few spotter reports show what appears to be a tornado on the ground. They don't tell us how strong it was, how long it stayed down, or how far it traveled. That comes from a damage survey, and none has been released. Until then, treat the details as preliminary.
What spotters reported
Trained spotters in New Castle County called in three kinds of damage between 1:05 and 1:14 PM Eastern:
- Trees and power lines down at Woodshade and Eastburn Heights.
- Minor damage to a house.
- Damage around Christiana Hospital.
Each report carried the note "tornado probable." That wording means the reports were preliminary, and no official tornado report or survey had been released. An official post at 1:56 PM Eastern said video of a tornado was available, but its exact location was still being pinned down.
Where the storms go from here
This was a small, focused setup. A low pressure center was moving east across the region with a strong disturbance overhead, and that combination gave storms a chance to spin. The Storm Prediction Center's afternoon update cut the severe threat back in eastern Maryland and Delaware as the main risk moved northeast.
The Level 2 of 5 area now covers far southeastern Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, and southern and central New Jersey, including Camden and New Brunswick. Within it:
- Tornado odds are about 5%, so a few tornadoes are possible.
- Hail of quarter size or larger has a 15% chance.
- Damaging gusts of 60 mph or more are possible, but those odds are lower, at 5%.
A wider Level 1 of 5 area includes New York City, Newark and Atlantic City. A Tornado Watch (Watch 705) is tied to this setup. Some of these storms may also drop heavy rain, and flash flooding is a Level 1 of 4 risk across parts of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
This part is fairly well locked in: the threat is small in size and moving northeast. The exact spots where a storm will spin up are still hard to pin down, which is why warnings matter more than the outlook right now.
What to do
- If you're in southern or central New Jersey or southeastern Pennsylvania, keep your phone charged with alerts on through this evening. Warnings can go out with little lead time.
- If a Tornado Warning is issued for your area, go to the lowest floor of a sturdy building and get into an interior room away from windows.
- In New Castle County, stay clear of downed lines and avoid roads near Christiana Hospital if crews are working there. Treat any wire on the ground as live.
- Check our live warnings page and storm reports for the latest, and see the severe storm outlook for what's next. You can also sign up for free Y'all Alerts.
No severe storms are expected Friday, Nov. 13.
Bottom line
A possible tornado was photographed west of Wilmington on Thursday afternoon, with minor damage reported in New Castle County and no official tornado report or survey released yet. The storm threat now sits over southern and central New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania through this afternoon, and it clears out for Friday.
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Places in this story: Wilmington, DE