CRANBERRY TWP — Wayne Jordan got the same alert that many smart phone users receive during dangerous weather conditions, but instead of heading for the basement on Saturday evening, he headed for the storm’s eye.

Jordan, who lives off Franklin Road, called his family and told them to get in the basement before driving to a church on Rowan Road that sits high on a hill.

“I ran up the hill and started video taping (on a smart phone,)” Jordan said. As a part-time sky one observer for the National Weather Service, Jordan recognized telltale cloud rotation over Chaparral Drive, followed by the dropping of the tornado vortex onto land.

Now a full-blown twister, Jordan saw it hop over Fountain Park Church on Rowan Road and break two large oak trees.

“I noticed a little debris coming up, and then I saw those big oaks blow over,” Jordan said. “I was thinking if this thing turns toward me, what am I going to do and where will I hide? I was exhilarated and scared all in one.”

The tornado seemed to disappear after snapping the oak trees, but then a large funnel cloud formed with small twisters around it near the community pool in North Boundary Park, Jordan said.

He jumped in his car and drove to a new housing development near the park off Goehring Road, where a portable toilet had been thrown across the road and a stop sign bent.

Jordan said he did not hear the traditional trainlike noise as the tornado made its short trip.

“I heard a high-pitched hissing, which I think is common on the smaller scale of tornados,” he said.

After the twister disappeared, Jordan reviewed its path and assessed the damage. He noticed that the tornado took a path similar to a micro burst several years ago.

A funnel cloud several years ago on the Cranberry Township-Allegheny County border is the closest Jordan has ever come to seeing an actual tornado.

“This was the first actual tornado I’ve seen in my life,” Jordan said. “Tornado damage is very fascinating to see, with the weird behavior of the storms and the power of these things.”

Jordan’s videos can be seen by searching “Cranberry Township tornado” or “tornado touchdown in Cranberry Township” on youtube.com.