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Pennsylvania’s Hiking Week Steps Off May 28th

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Pennsylvania’s Hiking Week runs from May 28th through June 5th with more than 100 organized hikes statewide.   The week is marking its tenth anniversary this year of highlighting Pennsylvania’s many trails and walking paths.

It’s a way to introduce newcomers to the sport of hiking according to Curt Ashenfelter, Executive Director of the Keystone Trails Association.    He  says there are hikes for people with disabilities, hikes for beginners and hikes for those who can handle more strenuous activity. 

Ashenfelter says the entry cost for hiking is minimal.  He says basically, you need sturdy shoes such as hiking boots or trail running shoes.  To prepare for a hike, Ashenfelter says you just need to dress for the weather and bring some water and a snack.

He says wellness programs focus on diet and physical activity and hiking is a good way to get out in nature and hike up and down hills or hike around a pond, whatever is right for your aerobic capacity.   

There’s a list of the hikes that will be taking place during the week at http://www.explorepatrails.com/

You can also learn more about hiking at the Keystone Trails Association website.

Hiking Week is cosponsored by the Keystone Trails Association and the Pennsylvania Bureaus of State Parks and Forestry.  

More Tornadoes Confirmed from Storms in the Past Week in Pennsylvania

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As devastating tornadoes have hit parts of the country this spring, Pennsylvania has not been immune to the vicious storms.   Pennsylvania averages 15 to 20 tornadoes a year.  June and July are usually the peak months.  With the latest confirmations, the state has already reached the average.

The National Weather Service in State College sent teams out on Friday to review damage from the night before.  They confirmed at least four more tornadoes. All were given a preliminary rating of  EF1. The confirmations came from near Hogestown in Cumberland County,   in New Franklin in Franklin County, near  Dauphin Borough in Dauphin County, and in Schuylkill County near Schuykill Haven . Then on Friday, a waterspout was reported on Raystown Lake and another EF1 tornado was confirmed near Calvin in Huntingdon County.

Peter Young is a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.  He says some people might think that the mountains protect parts of Pennsylvania from tornadoes, but that really has not been the case.  He says tornadoes have been confirmed across the state. He says in the 1985 outbreak, the state had large tornadoes go up one side of a mountain and come down the other side.

Tornadoes in Pennsylvania tend to be smaller in size and usually do not stay on the ground as long as storms that hit Tornado Alley.  But Pennsylvania has seen one EF5 in its history, during that deadly 1985 outbreak in Northwestern Pennsylvania which also included an EF4 that stayed on the ground for an hour.

Young says people should heed tornado warnings when they are issued, and take shelter.  He adds severe thunderstorms can spin off small tornadoes and those warnings should not be ignored.