I can also remember all the tornado warnings that were issued for the area as the storms moved in. Phone calls and people saying that tornados were hitting all around us. Stability indices were off the charts over the Midwest and that was all headedtoward PA. Back in those days meteorologists relied less on technology. 43 tornadoes and numerous damaging thunderstorms tore across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario. The Herald (2015). Then, sirens. Radar images dont show the actual tornadoes themselves (see the videos in the next section for that), but instead show structures or signatures within the storms that produce tornadoes. This flight was about an hour long and again the tornados path was easy to see from the air. I wanted to travel to Marienville but all the roads were blocked by downed trees and the fireman advised that I should not attempt to get there. This tornado was rated EF5 by the French Observatory of Tornadoes and Violent Thunderstorms (Keraunos), with the European Severe Storms Laboratory acknowledging the EF5 rating as its maximum intensity, though ESSL also rated the tornado F5. Retrieved from: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/sfc2.shtmlNational Weather Service Cleveland, Ohio (2019). Few visible scars remain of that Friday night in 1985, Slippery Rock boys take 1st, girls 2nd at Hermi, AHN Grove City hospital names new president, 2023 PRIMARY ELECTION: 6 running for 5 seats on, An in-depth photo and video remembrance: the 1985 tornadoes, Drug raid yields more than 500 fentanyl pills, other drugs, Attorney: Board action a possible violation, A family tradition: Tamburitzans musical group returns, with connections to the Shenango Valley, Homicide charge for shooting death of Hermitage man over to Common Pleas, 'Birdman' honored with memorial in River Gardens Park in downtown Sharon, Slippery Rock boys take 1st, girls 2nd at Hermitage Invitational, Entertainment company to film in Farrell council chambers. The damage from a F5 tornado is incredible, automobiles become flying missles that can be thrown over 110 yards. European Severe Storms Laboratory). They were still looking for survivors in townand also in Niles as well. Among contemporary meteorologists, this was considered one of the most intense tornadoes observed up to that time. A few, such as the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, are widely accepted as F5/EF5/T10+ tornadoes, despite not being rated as such in official records. Getting something as big as far east as you is really hard, he said. The Penn State Campus Weather Service was on top of the outbreak. The deadliest tornado of the day touched down near Jamestown, Pennsylvania along the Mercer and Crawford County line around 5:20 p.m. In all, 43 tornadoes touched down between about 4 and 11 p.m. that Friday in an unstable weather front stretching from Ontario, Canada, through New York, Pennsylvania and into southern Ohio. BULLETIN ACTIVATE EBS TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE PA 620 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 1985 EXPIRES 700 PM MAY 31 1985COUNTIES AFFECTED PA ERIE AND CRAWFORDTHE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ERIE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING UNTIL 700 PM FOR THESE COUNTIES IN NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA SOUTHERN ERIE AND NORTHERN CRAWFORD.AT 620 PM ERIE WEATHER RADAR SHOWS NEW TORNADOS ON THE GROUND WEST OF ALBION AND CONNEAUTVILLE PENNA. I stayed two hours beyond my normal shift, through peak heating, andthen went home. I lived in a mobile home park. Exceptionally rare, these tornadoes can produce wind speeds higher than 200 mph. An additional component to the magnitude of the thunderstorms on May 31st was the presence of a significant elevated mixed layer (EML) , a common supporting ingredient in severe weather across the northeastern U.S. (Banacos and Ekster). Greg Forbes recalled that an outbreak had been expected, but no one expected this. It was in the early evening on thatFridaynight and I was at a friends house when we noticed that the sky had gotten very dark and the wind had increased dramatically. Also note the deep closed low north of the Great Lakes. The original F-Scale historical data base will not change. As we travelled along the road, we broke out of the tree cover and came across the Moshannon State Park F4 tornado path that was over one mile wide. Nine people were killed in the business district of Niles. Tornado, in one of historys greatest detective feats, measured the immeasurable. NOTE: The National Weather Service in Cleveland is looking for photos, videos, etc from the May 31, 1985 Tornado Outbreak. Ending up in the yard or other places and not knowing how on earth they got there. Weather Link copied to clipboard A tornado outbreak killed 64 people in Pennsylvania 35 years ago. All nine homes in a small subdivision "literally vanished", with bodies carried up to .50mi (0.80km) away. I checked in and was told victims were coming in. This tornado reportedly left more intense damage than the previous event did in Woodward. Chance of rain 90%.. Light rainmixing with snow overnight. 1764 einen Strich von etlichen Meilen im Stargardischen Kreise des Herzogthums Mecklenburg gewaltig verwstet hat", "A violent tornado in mid-18th century Germany: the Genzmer Report", "Tornade EF5 Montville (Seine-Maritime) le 19 aot 1845", "Severe Storms Archive - Tornado 21 Feb 1876 to 22 Feb 1876", "The Great Plains Tornado Outbreak and Blackwell Tornado of 25-26 May 1955", "A Case Study in Forensic Meteorology: Investigating the 3 April 1956 Tornadoes in Western Lower Michigan | Ostuno | E-Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology", "1956 Tornado Outbreak: Vriesland to Trufant Tornado - Eyewitness Accounts", "Wichita Falls, TX Tornado, Apr 1964 - Twister Slams Wichita Falls | GenDisasters Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods", "May 5, 1964: F5 Tornado Tracks From Adams To Butler County", "NWS Jackson, MS - Mar. Strong or violent tornadoes can and do occur in areas where minimal damage occurs, leading to a low EF scale rating. They want you back in, she shouted over the mower. Mr. BULLETIN--IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Many farms were destroyed and some were swept completely away. Thenhe threw on his shoes and went downstairs (which he never did) so I got up and followed himdown. I represented the 65thlegislative district which included all of Warren and Forest Counties and the northern third of Venango County. For the next three hourswe called the radio stations we serviced in northwestern PA and went live on the air. The NCDC has accepted 38 of his F5 classifications of tornadoes occurring between 1880 and 1950. This was truly a once in a career type of event. Keep in mind that this F4 was on the ground for over 60 miles. Of the 59 tornadoes in the United States, 50 are officially rated F5 on the original Fujita scale (with dates of occurrence between May 11, 1953, and May 3, 1999), and nine are officially rated EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale (with dates of occurrence between May 4, 2007, and May 20, 2013). In addition to the Newton Falls-Niles tornado, other somewhat weaker tornadoes affected the counties in Northeast Ohio. We plotted and analyzed surface charts andSkew-Ts by hand on a daily basis. We'll never know. At any rate, the first storms associated with the outbreak in the United States formed just before our shift began on the 31st. Those lost never will be forgotten. Several teenagers were caught in the open and were picked up and thrown 1,000yd (0.57mi) but survived. Three farms were "wiped out of existence" with only "bits of kindling" remaining on the foundations. Although we had access to single-site reflectivity data from some locations, there were no regional mosaiced products for us to "see the big picture." Nature can be very, very powerful. From 1989 to 1993, I attended Penn State, focusing on a Degree in Meteorology. We are founded on the premise that all people have the right to feel secure when bad weather strikes. Frankly, all we had was afax with very blurry pictures of perfect hook echoes and the latest severe weather statements and tornadowarnings from the National Weather Service. The tornado destroyed nearly the entire town of Wheatland, and seven more people were killed. I had a police force pass and drove through the only open road. Full, unedited video of a rare, western Pennsylvania, F5 tornado filmed by Ron Alfredo as it made it's way through his parents-in-law neighborhood on may 31, 1985. Der Omaha F5 war der strkste Tornado, der jemals durch Nebraska gerissen wurde. Over a dozen tornadoes occurred in Ontario, with at least four F3s and two F4s reported. This tornado is considered the only F5 on record in Arkansas. The tornado finally lifted south of the town of Mercer after damaging or destroying more than a thousand homes. At the Pittsburgh Office, the hours from 5 PM to 8 PM were consumed with issuing tornado warnings for monster storms in Mercer (F5 that went through Wheatland), Beaver (F3 through Big Beaver) and into southern Butler county. I went to bed that night around 8 pm and had no idea what had just happenedaround me. Throughout the summer National Guardsmen kept watch over Wheatland and Atlantic. All NOAA. CLE Office The diverse air masses clearly have a whole lot to do with igniting the supercell thunderstorms that are the source of some of the most dangerous tornadoes, but indicting those ingredients alone would be a gross oversimplification, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Itbegan to hail and I heard my neighbor yell. The 850mb level is about 5000 feet above the ground. This list includes tornadoes believed or confirmed to have been at F5 or EF5 intensity. Tragically, these tornadoes killed 66 people in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The combination of strong westerlies aloft and strong southwesterly jet at 850 mb (Figure 3) allowed for increased vorticity over eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania (NWS, 2019). Recently, the average is 90 days with at least one tornado, and two or three days with 30 or more. I interviewed many folks and heard story after story after incredible story. With all that transpired, many survived. Figure 1. [4][nb 1]. It didnt take long for good things to begin emerging from the horror. Working during the outbreak and witnessing the aftermath helped shape my future career as a broadcast meteorologist. Since the creation of the International Fujita scale in 2018, no tornadoes have been rated IF5. May 31, 1985 Tornado Outbreak. This area is very hilly terrain and the tornado did not skip from one hill to the next, but went right down into the valley and up the other side for a far as the eye could see. Preparedness I do remember that the composite chart of all the "classic" severe weather parameters thatwe produced for every Outlook forecast showed that things were coming together in a fairlyclassic Central Plains-like manner. Figure 2 depicts the surface analysis on the morning of May 31st. Supplemental Information from our neighbors at WFO CTP: Another was carried for 200yd (600ft). However, the home was likely poorly anchored as debris was deposited in a neat pile near the foundation, and nearby homes only showed slight damage. So I was familiar with the Allegheny NationalForest and some of the small towns in the area. It's quite a privilege and honor to be entrusted by the public in this way (my research is primarily sponsored by the National Science Foundation and NOAA, i.e., taxpayer dollars). Jefferson County also indicated no reports of severe weather until golf ball sized hail was reported in Brookville as the storm rapidly exited Jefferson County and moved into southern Elk County about 7:20 PM. [2][3] In order to assess the intensity of these events, meteorologist Ted Fujita devised a method to estimate maximum wind speeds within tornadic storms based on the damage caused; this became known as the Fujita scale. This was mine. Stories like that of David Kostka, a 36-year-old Little League umpire and newlywed from Wheatland who gave his own life saving the lives of his young niece and her friend. I remember him saying the question was not whether there was a tornado, but how strong was the tornado? Many other hospital workers and I went in, and we opened a floor to take in victims. This storm was headed directly for our office, but it collapsed and died completely before reaching the PA border with OH. Philly is under a tornado watch and there are confirmed tornados in Delaware. Worldwide, a total of 67 tornadoes have been officially rated F5/EF5: 59 in the United States, two each in France and Germany, and one each in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Italy. This tornado stayed on the ground for 45 miles but fortunately killed no people. According to Leduc, et al. That summer experience exposed me to careers in scientific research; I realized for the first time that I could actually make a living studying tornadoes. The vertical extent of the storm was astounding as it moved across. In total, 57 of these tornadoes have been rated F5 and ten have been rated EF5. The Youngstown WSO had warning responsibility for Mercer and Lawrence Counties in PA and Trumbull and Mahoning Counties in OH. However, in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, conditions usually arent as favorable for tornadoes. Vehicles were thrown more than 100yd (300ft). Considered to be a possible F5 by Grazulis. I was assigned the task of handing out vouchers. Many large stone buildings were flattened. SKYWARN Of these twenty-one, one was rated an F5, and six were rated F4's. According to the National Weather Service in Cleveland, OH (2019), the upper air features from the the morning analysis gave classic indications of a significant severe weather event across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. At least 24 people died after this powerful twister devastated the . This might have been the same tornado that struck north of Tionesta but I am not sure. The storm paralleled I-80, so a track a bit further south would have been a disaster. Thomas P. Grazulis Ted Fujita), or meteorological research institutions (i.e. In the weeks and months that followed, my legislative offices assisted people and communities obtain any state aid that was available. Parts of two farms and some homes swept away, but they may have been hit by both tornadoes, thus the uncertainty of a possible F5. More on that later. Retrieved from: cmosarchives.ca/Chinook/ch0801.pdfN. Around here, the ideal air masses are present in summer, said Brooks, but the ideal winds tend to occur in winter. A clear echo was evident, the calling card of a powerful tornado. This was the era of Weather Service Forecast Offices (WSFOs) and satellite Weather Service Offices (WSOs). This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F5, EF5, T10-T11, IF5, or an equivalent rating, the highest possible ratings on the various tornado intensity scales. However, as the afternoon progressed, the thunderstorm activity developed south into northern Ohio. At least two farms were swept away, and house foundations were left bare. Trees stripped clean of bark and branches, cars was torn apart. Injuries were in the hundreds. On storm surveys the next day, Forbes saw stacks of ripped-down trees piled 10 feet high. This following two figures from Markowski show 1, the presence of the EML in the 7pm May 31st Pittsburgh sounding and 2, the formation and subsequent migration of the EML across the United States. May 31, 1985 changed my life forever. This tornado outbreak left a permanent impact on those affected. I worked the evening shift at "SELS" (the Severe Local Storms Unit of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center, as the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) was known in those days) on Friday, 31 May 1985. Wheatland was more industrial, residential and had experienced a F5 tornado. A car engine, found nearby, was carried for a similar distance. The visible satellite loop above shows the development and explosive growth of thunderstorms across southern Ontario, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western New York on the afternoon of May 31, This two day series of Daily Weather Maps (courtesy NOAA/NWS) shows the eastward progression of the cold front; from near Chicago on Friday morning May 31, Precipitation looks like a hook on the radar returns; showing. Ultimately, a new scale was devised that took into account 28 different damage indicators; this became known as the Enhanced Fujita scale. At first all the action was inOntario. In an interview in 2016, Gust stated, if I would have had the EF toolkit at that time I probably would have rated EF5 and I'd have felt more comfortable going with the F5 rating on that. For a horrifying day, a tornado alley cut through Pennsylvania. At daybreak on May 31, 1985, a strong area of low pressure was centered near Duluth, Minnesota. At 21Z (5:00 pm EDT), the cold front was in western Ontario (Figure 10). Retrieved from: https://www.weather.gov/cle/event_19850531_85outbreakNational Weather Service Cleveland, Ohio (2019). THE TORNADO WATCH IS ALONG AND70 STATUTE MILES SOUTHWEST OF AKRON OHIO TO 20MILES SOUTH OF ROCHESTER NEW YORK. While flying over the Wilderness Area, someone in the helicopter thought they had seen someone flash a signal or wave something. (That likely would facilitate social distancing. A closer view of the surface analysis of the warm sector, the area between the cold front and the warm front, at 7PM (23 UTC) Friday evening (courtesy Paul Markowski), shows how warm and especially how moist the airmass ahead of the cold front had become. To qualify as an F1 event, a tornado must have a wind speed of 73 miles per hour or above. They were being spotted everywhere and even in Greenville. She drove the mower back into the garage and I took off in the car. A school disintegrated, and two farms were swept away. I was especially saddened to find out that our favorite ice cream stand in Tidioute PA had beendestroyed by the tornado that passed through that lovely little town. Westkentuckygenealogy / CC BY-SA 3.0, ber Wikimedia Commons - Lizenz. Resulting in 34 deaths, the Xenia tornado was the deadliest of all tornadoes from this outbreak and remains among the top 10 costliest U.S. tornadoes on record (approximately $250 million in 1974). Retrieved from: https://www.sharonherald.com/news/local_news/few-visible-scars-remain-of-that-friday-night-in/article_3943bf03-2677-51ba-a2eb-0e8547f9f494.htmlNWS Weather Prediction Center (2017). Cochranton, Cherry Tree, Cooperstown and Tionesta were also hard hit. I got much of my information from the disc jockeys themselves beforethey put me on the air. Many tornadoes officially rated F4/EF4 or equivalent have been disputed and described as actual F5/EF5/T10+ or equivalent tornadoes, and vice versa; since structures are completely destroyed in both cases, distinguishing between an EF4 tornado and an EF5 tornado is often very difficult. "If I'm going to die, I'm not going to die alone," I said to myself, and off I ran to my neighbor's home. Killer twisters also rampaged through northern Ohio, southwestern New York, and Ontario, in regions unaccustomed to encounters with the most ferocious storms on earth. The wind took him away, but the youngsters were spared. The cold front would later provide the trigger for explosive supercell thunderstorm development. These storms were heading toward Kane and had produced tornadoes that created considerable damage and injuries in western Pennsylvania. 1985 Tornado Outbreak Revisited [PowerPoint presentation]. A car was thrown a block and a half. This is the earliest estimated F5 that can be verified in the U.S. according to Grazulis. The threat of severe weather was so great that we had actually headlined the possibility in the zone forecasts at 4 AM on the previous midnight shift. By the end of the evening, a total of forty-one tornadoes had occurred in the United States and Canada. Overall, Pennsylvania experienced 984 tornadoes between 1950 and 2021, showing the frequency of tornadoes in the state. On this thirtieth anniversary date, let us take a moment to remember those that lost their lives and to be thankful that we have better early warning systems today that can warn us of impending harmful weather events. It was a blur of activity for about three hours and then just as suddenly as it began, it wasover. In 30 years, a whole new generation has been born and has grown into adulthood. It was relatively cool, humid, and cloudy; Harrisburg was northeast of the surface warm front. Beginning in 1971, tornadoes were rated by the NWS using on-site damage surveys. . Eight years after the event, the path of the nearly mile-wide monster storm remained nearly devoid of trees --- in stark contrast to the richly green forest surrounding it. Some of them 1/2 mile wide. The phone booth next to it was not touched and still working! The house was just a few blocks from the ballfield where Dave Kostka lost his life saving two youngsters. I graduated in 1993 from the University with my BS in Meteorology, and in August of 1993 I began my National Weather Service career in a small Weather Forecast Office in Wichita Falls, TX. My parents were very upset since phone lines were down and they couldn't reach me. The tornado finally lifted south of the town of Mercer after damaging or destroying more than a thousand homes. (1986) notes that the dynamics in place were strong since a sharp cold front (Figure 2, 3, 8 and 10) and an upper trough (Figure 4 and 5) was crossing Michigan, bringing with it strong westerlies in the upper-levels of the atmosphere. It also blasted the area and survivors with grit and stones picked up from a sand-and-gravel company on the edge of town.ANNE REDFIELD | Herald file. They called me back and said that I could meet a helicopter at the Tionesta State Police barrackson Saturdaymorning for a tour. A warm front lifted north across the region during the predawn hours of the 31st. As of February 1, 2007, tornadoes in the United States are rated using the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which replaced the Fujita scale in order to more accurately correlate tornadic intensity with damage indicators and to augment and refine damage descriptors. Homes were swept away, and a boxcar was thrown 100yd (300ft). Because the distinctions between F4/EF4/T9 and F5/EF5/T10 tornadoes are often ambiguous, the official ratings of numerous other tornadoes formally rated below F5/EF5/T10 or equivalent have been disputed, with certain government sources or independent studies contradicting the official record. Below is a timeline of actual National Weather Service text from northwest Pennsylvania on May 31st: BULLETIN ACTIVATE EBS TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ERIE PA 513 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 1985 EXPIRES 530 PMCOUNTIES AFFECTED PA ERIETHE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ERIE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING UNTIL 530 PM FOR THESE COUNTIES IN NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIASOUTHERN ERIEA TORNADO WAS SIGHTED BY STATE POLICE NEAR PENNSIDESOUTH OF ALBION IN ERIE COUNTY AT 505 PMMOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. Of these twenty-one, one was rated an F5, and six were rated F4s. It wasn't until the following day when I surveyed the damage with Greg Forbes and others that I realized that I was probably within about a mile of the giant tornado. Greg Forbes, myself, Fred [Gadomski], and Paul [Knight] were mesmerized by the radarand, out of the dead silence, Greg pronounced that "People are dying right now." From that point on through the evening, weather conditions worsened. Fatalities occurred in all five towns and also at mobile home park north of Franklin. My last broadcast on WKZA was just before their sign off at 8:15 PM. The sky even seemed to have a dark green color to it. Leduc, O. Jacobsen and B. Greer (Winter 1986). Injuries were in the hundreds. As it turns out that particular tornado, known as the Moshannon tornado, was very strong and large. Beach, National Centers Twenty-one tornadoes tracked across Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania during the evening of May 31st. We pondered these ideas as we briefed the incomingmidnightshift. It's been a heck of a ride. From that point on through the evening, weather conditions worsened. Pennsylvania Highways: May 31, 1985 Tornado Outbreak May 31, 1985 Tornado Outbreak The end of May is a great time for a kid, as I was in that fifth month of 1985. We assumed that this would be a dynamics drivenevent and the greatest dynamics were located closer to the surface low moving over Sault Saint Marie. The visible satellite loop in Figure 9 shows the development and explosive growth of thunderstorms across southern Ontario, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western New York on the afternoon of May 31st. At the time of the call, I did not know who Greg was, or that he had been one of the few PhD candidates of Dr Ted Fujita. The remaining residents have rebuilt their homes and lives and the area remains a beautiful place to live and work. A well-built home shouldn't be at risk, but a tornado of this intensity might be capable of moving a mobile home or caravan. I can vaguely remember the unusual heat and humidity that was around for that time of the year. The physical scars are mostly gone or healed. The tornado finally lifted near Tionesta (Forest County) after destroying 371 homes. Three rural schools houses were obliterated, at least one was "swept entirely away". That day, that week forever etched in my mind. Storm Events Database. A large stone monastery was partially leveled to the ground. I attended PSU for a B.S. Leduc et al. In spring 1993 I had the opportunity to drive through the path of the Moshannon tornado with fellow Penn Stater and NWS forecaster Bill Gartner. (BACK TO TOP), Beaver County Times - Collection of 30th Anniversary Articles, Cleveland Plain Dealer - 25th Anniversary, Pittsburgh Post Gazette - 20th Anniversary, Tornado Watch Number 211 by John G. Fuller, Published September 1st 1987 by William Morrow & Company, Youngstown Vindicator - Tornado Victims Remembered, Supplemental Presentation by Nick Sleptzoff, former Erie County EMA director, NWS Storm Prediction Center Weather Report Archive, NWS/NOAA Employees/Retirees Stephen Corfidi, Bob Davis, Bill Drazl,Thomas Dunham, Priscilla Farrar,Rihaan Gangat,Paul Head, Carolyn Kloth, Christopher Liscinsky, Bill Modzelewski, Paul Nieman, Rob Radzanowski, andTeresa Rossifor their recollections, images, and data, Tom Atkins, WJET/Fox 66 for images and video, Henry Margusity, Accuweather for video footage and images, Dr. Paul Markowski and Lee Grenci, Penn State University for images, information, and recollections, Curtis Bowley, Susan Lucas Kazenas, and Ed Kieser for their recollections, Elyse Hagner and William Gartner, NWS State College, PA, PAST WEATHER
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