Tornado Destroys Mobile Homes North of Lititz, Penn.

At roughly 4:40 p,m. on Sunday, March 29, damaging winds and golf ball sized hail hit Manheim, Penn. The hail hit with such violence that both my son and husband were certain there would be dents found later in the car's structure. When they finally arrived at Harrisburg International Airport, the flights of many passengers were either delayed or canceled. The weather had created havoc throughout several counties.

Across the county, the weather was creating more havoc. In this same time frame, down the road and around the bend from my home a much more destructive weather force bore down on a line mobile homes, located slightly north of Lititz. Although severe thunderstorms, with the threat tornadic activity, had been announced by the National Weather Service, it is doubtful anyone could have been prepared in the trailer park of what was to come.

A tornado touched down flattening a half a dozen mobile homes, ripping a roof off a barn and causing various types of damage in its wake. Yesterday, the National Weather Service officials concluded that it was an EF-1 (second to the mildest category of tornado) caused the carnage from the twister which was on the ground for about 10 minutes. The winds from the twister had reached speeds of 95 miles per hour.

A child's swing hangs by two ropes from a damaged tree. Behind the swing, a teddy bear lay peeking out from under the rubble of what once was that child's mobile home. The home is now an unlivable nightmare of brokenness and a child is stripped of innocence after suffering devastation from the twister. A row of six mobile homes destroyed, some flattened others appear as if they are a little more than a pile of building materials. Two other mobile homes appear severely damaged. Driving through the area at least 150 plus buildings appear to have sustained damage. It wasn't until today that all the roads in the area were re-opened.

Former residents of the mobile homes could be seen sifting through the remains of their belongs. There were few items that appeared that could be salvaged. I observed Amish neighbors delivering refreshments in a red wagon to those trying in vain to rescue items belonging to them. Shortly at the end of the path of the twister (approximately little more than a mile), remnants from tornado activity could be seen in various places on the ground; yet, life in a much larger trailer park nearby appeared undamaged and looks as if nothing has changed.

Source:

National Weather Service