NEW BEAVER TWP. - The National Weather Service confirms that a tornado touched the ground in New Beaver Township, Lawrence County on Wednesday.

The NWS classifies the twister as an EF1 on the  Fujita scale, which measures the relative strength of tornadoes based on factors such as winds and damage.

Experts believe that the storm associated with the tornado was accompanied by winds as high as 90 miles per hour.

The storm destroyed a barn that had been in Ryan Werner's family for four generations.

"It was about 25 to 35 feet above those silos," says Werner.

Ryan and his neighbors say they saw the tornado.
"It was basic, v-shaped, ground touching tornado type deal," Werner says." It was coming from the southeast moving in a northeastern pattern."

Werner's 95-year old grandmother still lives there.

She and his aunt had been inside the home at the time. He is relieved that while the barn and surrounding buildings were badly damaged, the home and the people inside were okay.

"It was the snap of a finger. No noise, no sound it just come blowing through like nothing," he says. 

However, Ryan's sister says not everyone in the family had been accounted for.

"I said, I'd hate to ask but where's the dog?" says Werner's sister Whitney McAnlis. 

McAnlis was relieved when her husband pulled Jasper from the wreckage.

"I was worried because he is tied. He's a farm dog that's tied," she says.

Werner's farm used to be a dairy farm. Now, it's more for crops.

The barn housed hay and equipment. Ryan says it will take some time but he plans to clean up the damage and rebuild.

"You can rebuild anything else. Everybody's alive.  Nobody's life was taken," Werner says.