The National Weather Service confirmed July 1 that Whitehall Township was affected by "straight line wind damage," not consistent with a tornado, during the heavy storms that ripped through the area the day before.

According to a preliminary local storm report by the NWS published at 5:55 p.m. July 1, a survey team investigating a possible tornado in the township found instead straight line wind damage, with an estimated maximum wind speed of 80 mph.

The reported funnel clouds did not touch down on the ground, the NWS report further concluded in a final report.

"Some of the most significant damage occurred along Columbia Street, where large sections of corn fields were flattened by the winds," the report reads. "The trees and corn fields were blown down in an easterly direction, indicating straight line wind damage and not tornadic damage."

The storm June 30 tore down trees and telephone poles in the township and left many Whitehall and Coplay residents without power for days.

The weather was severe enough to prompt Whitehall Township Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. to declare a state of emergency at around 3:40 p.m. the day of the storm. The weather organization had issued a tornado warning just a few minutes before.

The report found the winds to be a "microburst," which includes winds with a width of less than 2-1/2 miles and with peak winds lasting less than five minutes. The winds in Whitehall Township were found to have a width of 100 yards and a length of 1.4 miles.

Kristin Kline, a meteorologist from the NWS, said in an interview that Lehigh County Emergency Management requested the storm survey following the storm.

"The emergency managers have seen significant damage and they needed us to take a look at it," Kline said.

Kline said the microburst had a relatively small area, which could explain reports of only one side of the corn fields on Columbia Street blown down and the other side seemingly unaffected.

"It's possible that one area was just on the outer edge of where the damage occurred," she said.

There were no fatalities in Whitehall Township, although a firefighter was hospitalized for minor injuries and was released by the next day.

The national weather organization did confirm a tornado in Honey Brook, Chester County. Uprooted trees were thrown in opposite directions of a home in Honey Brook, indicating a tornado. The report also mentions a "clear video of a funnel cloud" moving toward Honey Brook.

The survey team determined 95 mph winds in the area with the tornado, which tore roof panels from homes and unseated a mobile home. Two people were trapped in the mobile home and were rescued by the local fire department, according to the tornado report.