A confirmed tornado struck New Castle County, Delaware, on Thursday afternoon as a line of severe thunderstorms swept through the Philadelphia region.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly verified the touchdown, while also investigating a second potential tornado in Burlington County, New Jersey. CBS News Philadelphia reported that the storms brought heavy rain, widespread hail, and destructive winds across the tri-state area.
November tornadoes are exceptionally rare in the region. Records show only four tornadoes touched down in Delaware between 1810 and 2025, with the state’s last November tornado occurring on Nov. 16, 1989. New Jersey has recorded 15 November tornadoes—most recently on Nov. 1, 2019, in Morris County—while Pennsylvania recorded its last November tornado in Allegheny County on Nov. 20, 2024.
Thursday’s severe weather uprooted trees, toppled fences, and downed power lines. It remains unclear whether the storms caused any injuries, according to CBS News.
High winds from the storm knocked over a large entrance sign at the Sonesta ES Suites Wilmington/Newark on Chapman Avenue, crushing two parked vehicles.
April, a person working on the second floor of the hotel, heard a loud boom when the structure collapsed onto her Lexus. She told CBS News that she normally sits inside her car during breaks.
“I thought it was someone else’s car, like a Honda. It hurts bad, and I want Lexus to know that I want a new Lexus,” April told CBS News. “I am grateful that I was not in the car because I did not want this to be a tragedy to my family.”
Hotel guests visiting the area also witnessed the storm’s aftermath. Emily Schneider, who was staying at the property to visit her daughter at the University of Delaware, discovered the damage after returning from a nearby restaurant.
“It was crazy, especially since we know we were parked here last night and it was a couple of spaces down from where we are parked right now,” Schneider said.
The storm system also produced severe hail in Pennsylvania, blanketing parts of Delaware County in ice.
Parkside Borough Police reported that a severe thunderstorm dropped about 19 inches of hail on the area Thursday afternoon. Crews temporarily closed a stretch of Edgmont Avenue from West Forestview Road to Upland Road to clear the accumulation.
In nearby Brookhaven, heavy rainfall combined with deep layers of hail to turn local streets into icy runoff channels.
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