Micro Burst does damage

BY ROBERT L. BAKER

Reports of a tornado touching down Friday, July 29, inSusquehannaCountywere unfounded, but the National Weather Service did confirm that a micro burst had struck inBridgewaterTownshipwith top winds of 80-90 miles per hour.

TheNWSBinghamton office in a statement noted that “thunderstorm winds damaged a home and took down some trees onHawley Roadon the west side of Montrose near Rt. 706. The thunderstorm then produced a significant microburst about two miles south of Montrose impacting property alongPeterson Road,Meshoppen Creek RoadandBolles Road.”

Eleanor Kurosky said she was not home at the time, but a neighbor called and said a tornado had struck her home around4 p.m.near the intersection ofMeshoppen Creek RoadandPeterson Road.

Kurosky said that numerous trees snapped and one tree damaged the house roof while several storm windows were also ripped off the house and found 75-100 feet away.

Large evergreen trees were uprooted and several trees fell on top of a machine shed.  There was also damage to the barn.

TheNWSsaid the microburst then “blew through farm fields and wooded areas taking down numerous trees. It crossMeshoppen Creek RoadandBolles Roadsnapping additional trees on nearby properties and then appeared to weaken as it moved up a hillside.

For reference purposes, theNWSsaid that a microburst is a convective downdraft with an affected area less than two and one-half miles wide and peak winds lasting less than five minutes.