Tornado, Heavy Rain Slash Philadelphia

A tornado and heavy rains struck Philadelphia on Friday night, damaging homes and cars and ripping up trees, the National Weather Service said.

The twister touched down in Philadelphia’s affluent Society Hill section about 7:15 p.m. and slashed northeast for half a mile to the Delaware River, the service said. One injury was reported.

In suburban Yeadon, Pa., the body of a 15-year-old girl who apparently fell into rain-swollen Cobbs Creek during a thunderstorm was discovered about 10:30 p.m., Upper Darby Township police said.

Disaster Area

Rain and thunderstorms were prevalent throughout the East, parts of the Great Lakes and the Great Plains. A community near Baton Rouge was declared a disaster area after tornadoes killed five people in Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle on Thursday.

Thunderstorms extended across the south Atlantic Coast, and rain extended from eastern Ohio across Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and southeast New York state to southern New England, the National Weather Service said.

More than 2 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes at Amherst, N.Y., with some flooded basements reported. By early evening, more than 3 inches of rain had fallen in Buffalo, breaking the record for the date of 2.67 inches, set in 1892.

The heaviest rainfall was in the Florida Panhandle, which got more than 15 inches in the town of Milton during the 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. Crestview was swamped with more than 11 inches and Pensacola reported almost 5 inches in the same period.

The weather service said high winds unroofed a home 50 miles northwest of West Palm Beach, Fla.

Valdosta, Ga., got nearly 5 inches of rain, and a tornado touched down near Moody Air Force Base but no major damage or injuries were reported.

Thunderstorms also occurred over the eastern Great Lakes region, especially southeast lower Michigan and northern Ohio. Showers and thunderstorms also extended across the southern and central high plains and from Kansas into northern Texas.

A flash-flood watch was issued for western Oklahoma for Friday night.

Afternoon thunderstorms unleashed hail the size of golf balls in northeastern New Mexico and wind gusts to 46 m.p.h. at Pueblo in southeastern Colorado.

A dozen twisters Thursday evening hammered the small fishing village of Eastpoint, Fla., where three people were killed, and at least four tornadoes hit Louisiana, killing two people.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher Robert Coursey said the tornadoes destroyed several homes and businesses in Eastpoint, about 85 miles southwest of Tallahassee. Most of the damage occurred on Old Ferry Dock Road, he said.