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 31st. While watching television the night of the storms, I remember seeing a national news report about the tornado outbreak. I thanked him for the report and told him I would pass the information onto the Harrisburg WSO who had warning responsibility for Clinton. THEY ARE ALL MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT NEAR 35 MPH. I relieved Bill Drzal who was the lead forecaster on the day shift, and Bill briefed me on the tornado potential. [15][16] From 1950 to 1970, tornadoes were assessed retrospectively, primarily using information recorded in government databases, as well as newspaper photographs and eyewitness accounts. I took a quick dinner break and returned before the storms got into the coverage area of our radio stations. Questions? What followed was atmospheric fireworks. That was my cue to call the hospital. Exceptionally rare, these tornadoes can produce wind speeds higher than 200 mph. Temperatures were in the 80s (F) and dewpoint temperatures (a measure of moisture) were in the upper 60s and lower 70s (F). A well-built farmhouse was leveled with little debris left. I arrived at the office about 3:30 PM to a cloudless sky, but warm and humid conditions. At 4:10 p.m., the National Weather Service Office in Cleveland issued the first severe thunderstorm warning of the day for Ashtabula County. I was 10 years old and in fifth grade at the time. Compared with today, the radar data available to SELS' was rudimentary. My coworker had called at 4 PM. On a personal note, my family had some connections to the affected area. It had a textbook hook echo, something I had only seen in textbooks up until that time. Thomas P. Grazulis Ted Fujita), or meteorological research institutions (i.e. Admission after admission. Unfortunately, the tornadoes that hit Warren, Forest and Venango Counties on that fateful night thirty years ago were very destructive in terms of property and life. First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Please Contact Us. The scale ranks tornadoes from F0 to F5, with F0 being the least intense and F5 being the most intense. The outbreak continued east across north central Pennsylvania through late evening. The tornado finally lifted south of the town of Mercer after damaging or destroying more than a thousand homes. in meteorology from 1992-1996, and in the summer of 1995, worked at the National Severe Storms Lab and participated in the VORTEX project--at the time, the biggest tornado field project ever. One book led to another and another and another, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, the mild temperatures and high humidity levels in place that day were two of the key ingredients that allowed a warm May afternoon to turn into an historical and deadly evening. Lee was sitting in the Penn State radar room, watching the WSR 77 radar with other Penn State faculty members. The vertical extent of the storm was astounding as it moved across. That was the end of the convection for the evening and just as suddenly as the event started, it was over. During the rain and wind event it suddenly dawned on me that as State Representative, perhaps I had responsibilities and people might expect me to make sure that the state government agencies were doing all they could to assist people and communities. 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." We still know terrifyingly little about the storms. One F5 tornado hit Wheatland, PA and it remained the only F5 to hit east of the Mississippi River until 2011. I will never forget seeing the isolated supercell responsible for the Moshannon tornado as it moved steadily east across the Allegheny Plateau, and trying to determine if it would remain north of Centre County and Penn State. NWS I was amazed at how that night produced the only F5 tornado to strike PA. That statistic remains so even today. By the end of the evening, a total of forty-one tornadoes had occurred in the United States and Canada. Like about everything else these days, tornadoes are behaving somewhat peculiarly, said Brooks, and that might be related to climate change, but they are directing some of that toward guarding their secrets. This tornado outbreak left a permanent impact on those affected. It appeared that one of the tornadoes had touched down north of Tionesta, crossed the Allegheny River, hit the German Hill area, then north of Marienville near the Abraxas Center, and travelled on toward Kane. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ERIE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING UNTIL 530 PM FOR THESE COUNTIES IN NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIASOUTHERN ERIE A TORNADO WAS SIGHTED BY STATE POLICE NEAR PENNSIDESOUTH OF ALBION IN ERIE COUNTY AT 505 PMMOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. For the next three hourswe called the radio stations we serviced in northwestern PA and went live on the air. 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). 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. According to the NWS Cleveland, OH (2019), research has shown that this signature on a Skew-T is a good indicator of significant severe weather. And Im sure the carpet cleaning crew wondered why the weather station was so busy on a Friday night in between semesters. 10 violent (F4 or F5) tornadoes; 12 killer tornadoes 89 fatalities (65 in Pa.; 69 tornado deaths in Pa. in previous 50 years) Damage estimated in excess of $600 million ($1.5 billion in. Bill was in the Air Force reserve, and I had been a weather officer in the Air Force between my BS and MS degrees from Penn State. BTORNADOESLARGE HAILDANGEROUS LIGHTNINGAND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLEIN THESE AREAS. In Pennsylvania along, 21 tornadoes touched down that day, including a rare F5 -- the most powerful classification on the Fujita scale. In the weeks and months that followed, my legislative offices assisted people and communities obtain any state aid that was available. THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 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. Negative LI values generally indicate unstable atmosphere, positive indicate lesser instability. In addition to the accepted ones, Grazulis rated a further 25 during the same period which were not accepted. 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. Those who came to me to be interviewed looked like the walking dead. Then, sirens. The Penn State Campus Weather Service was on top of the outbreak. We lifted off and the tornados path of destruction was easy to follow from the air. No earlier tornadoes will be reclassified on the Enhanced Fujita scale, and no new tornadoes in the United States will be rated on the original Fujita scale. This day remains the deadliest tornado outbreak ever documented in Pennsylvania. 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. Twisted metal, clothes, and other pieces of homes. They were being spotted everywhere and even in Greenville. This was my first severe weather shift as a lead forecaster. 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). For a couple of days leading up to May 31st there was talk in the Penn State weather station that the weather pattern was taking shape for a severe weather outbreak over Ohio and Pennsylvania. One thing that does stand out from the day was the greenness of the sky as the storms rolled in. I was not working that day. 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. I will never forget the young man who was at his grandparents farmhouse with his fianc (he was to be married the next day). Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Philadelphia County has had 12 tornadoes since 1958. Sorry, the location you searched for was not found. The original Fujita Tornado Damage Scale (or F-scale) had an upper-limit estimate of 318 mph for a three-second gust within a F5 tornado, but the EF scale does not place a maximum wind value. I was assigned the task of handing out vouchers. A cold front extended south from the low across the western Great Lakes and then through Illinois and Missouri. The tornado finally lifted near Tionesta (Forest County) after destroying 371 homes. This tornado is only listed as an F5 by the NCDC Technical Memorandum, and is not listed at all by Grazulis or any other sources, and is therefore a possible typographical error in the memorandum. European Severe Storms Laboratory). This was the first time I'd ever heard/seen the term "tornado watch," and I distinctly recall asking my parents what it meant (I think they gave a decent answer, though some of the details now escape me). A total of 59 tornadoes have been rated this intensity since 1950. In fact, since May 31, 1985, only two tornado days have been deadlier in the entire United States. This page was last edited on 14 April 2023, at 00:42.
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