National Weather Service investigators confirm that a second tornado touched down Wednesday evening in Pennsylvania.
Investigators in Bradford County in northeast Pennsylvania say that a tornado caused the damage in Franklin Township. Officials say more information including an estimated intensity of the tornado and distance of its path would be released later Thursday.
Another team of investigators confirms an EF2 tornado with a high wind speed of 130 miles per hour touched down in Wilkes-Barre about 10 p.m. Wednesday causing severe damage to one of the region's main commercial corridors.
There were only six minor injuries reported from the severe weather Wednesday.
*An earlier version of this story appears below*
National Weather Service officials confirmed Thursday that a tornado had touched down in Wilkes-Barre late Wednesday night causing severe damage in one of the region's major commercial corridors.
The National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York, sent teams Thursday to two counties in northeast Pennsylvania to determine if tornados touched down as part of a severe weather system that destroyed homes, stores and cars and left at least six people injured late Wednesday night. According to a Twitter post from the agency, the team in Bradford County had not made an official determination of whether a tornado had touched down or whether straight line winds had caused the damage there as of early Thursday afternoon.
Photos and videos of the aftermath show a shopping center in Wilkes-Barre about 110 miles north of Philadelphia, with roofs torn off, cars over turned and storefronts shattered. Similar photos surfaced Thursday morning from Granville, Franklin and Leroy townships about 90 miles further north of Wilkes-Barre showing collapsed structures and shattered windows.
JUST IN: @WNEP’s SKYCAM 16 over the apparent tornado damage near Wilkes-Barre, PA. The National Weather Service is expected here later today to determine if it was officially a tornado that caused all of this damage. @WNEPWeather pic.twitter.com/11qRMuL70x
— Ryan Leckey (@RyanLeckey) June 14, 2018
Meteorologist Joanne LaBounty from the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York, said the office planned to release reports with more details from both teams Thursday afternoon.
In Wilkes-Barre, city and county officials had closed roads around the damaged shopping centers because of downed power lines and damage to a propane cylinder that was still leaking as of midmorning Thursday.
Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency volunteer Garrett Hittle said crews were working to stabilize the propane cylinder by off gassing the contents.
"The scene is not safe enough to have people be able to go in and perform a complete assessment at this point," Hittle said. "It affected between a half-mile and mile radius of mostly business interests."
Hittle said there were reports of six storm-related injuries that were not life-threatening and did not require anyone to be admitted to the hospital.
Joy Frie told The (Wilkes-Barre) Citizens' Voice that staff and patrons huddled in the kitchen of the bar where she bartends until they could escape to another business.
"The doors were busting open. Almost everyone's cars in the parking lot were destroyed," the 18-year-old said.
In Bradford County, damage was reported in three neighboring townships, but emergency personnel said there were no reports of injuries.
Jeff Scarboro, the director of public safety and emergency management for the county, said there were about 10 homes with varying reports of damage some of which appeared to be destroyed.
"There were initial reports of entrapments with building collapses and debris, but local fire departments helped with removal from those properties," Scarboro said.
Scarboro said some of the rescues included at least one person in a wheelchair who needed help because of debris and older couples who were trapped in storm cellars by debris.
