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Heavy damage from storms in Lancaster

EAST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP,  Pa. — Severe weather slammed parts of Lancaster County overnight.  Heavy rain and winds caused a lot of damage, including East H...
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EAST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP,  Pa. — Severe weather slammed parts of Lancaster County overnight.  Heavy rain and winds caused a lot of damage, including East Hempfield Township which was one of the hardest hit areas. “I can’t believe it,” said Leavitt Keener, who lives on Marietta Avenue.  His street, littered with debris and branches, was barricaded off because of downed wires on the road. But most surprising to Keener, the tree that narrowly missed hitting the apartment building next to his home.  “I heard the storm last night, the wind blowing, and saw debris flying everywhere,” he said. “But, I didn’t see the damage until this morning.”

Lancaster County dispatchers said the worst hit areas seem to be the Rohrstown area, East Hempfield Township, Manor Township, and Contestoga.
The strong winds tore a piece of a roof of a warehouse on the 200 block of Running Pump Road. Pieces landed along Route 30 by the Centerville Road exit.

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This also resulted in a close call for crews responding to the incident around 1 a.m.  As they were blocking off the highway a truck hit one of the responders vehicles narrowly missing them. No one was hurt.
PPL crews worked around the area throughout the morning to restore power to hundreds of customers.

Update:

Meteorologists from the national Weather Service from State College surveyed damage from last night’s storm and determined that it was caused by a tornado. The experts say it appears the tornado touched down initially at Blind Spring and Knoll Roads Peak winds reached 90-100 mph. The tornado’s path was generally about 50 to 75 yards wide. It is not known yet how long the tornado’s path was.

The storm tore the roof off of a warehouse located at 499 Running Pump Road. At least 40 weather related calls were answered by East Hempfield Twp. Police over a three hour period of time.  Reports of power outages and downed wires poured in through the morning hours.  As the sun rose the amount of damage was more evident with numerous trees down throughout the township.

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