Residents in the Seaford area of York County didn’t have just an intense thunderstorm roll in around 7:15 p.m. What was believed to be a tornado was also spotted in the area, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning at 7:17 p.m.
According to the alert, trained weather spotters saw the tornado just south of Seaford and reported it to the National Weather Service. The alert told residents to seek cover for the duration of the warning, which was in effect about 40 minutes.
York Department of Fire and Life Safety Capt. Paul Long said a worker at Plains All American Pipeline – the new owners of the former Yorktown Refinery that’s now called the Yorktown Terminal – videotaped the storm’s approach in the area of Waterview and Hornsbyville Roads. The worker captured a twisting, fast-moving vertical cloud and believed – unsurprisingly, Long said – it was a tornado.
“Based on the video we have been seeing the past few days out of the tragedy in Oklahoma, [the video] did look like a tornado but it looks to be more of a funnel cloud that didn’t touch down,” Long said of the video. “All appearances based on the evidence lead us to believe it was a funnel cloud.”
According to the National Weather Service, a tornado is a violently spinning column of air that extends from the cloud to the ground, while a funnel cloud looks very similar but does not make contact with the ground.
“We were very fortunate,” Long said, adding the evidence in this case was the lack of any damage in the area.
A number of emergency calls reported the funnel cloud to York County authorities along with the National Weather Service, which prompted the warning.
The turbulent weather was moving south to southeast, with wind gusts of up to 40 mph still possible as the storm moved out.
York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Ivey, Jr. said no problems had been reported.
Residents who experienced wind damage, including trees or large limbs downed, should call the National Weather Service in Wakefield at 1-800-737-8624.
