PSU Department of Meteorology colloquium presentation; February 25, 2015. Every tree was twisted, splintered, and covered with mud. I worked at Weather Services Corporation from 1980 until 1988 before starting my own business. Stories of heroism also emerged. White tornados because they were so full of debris. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Some tornadoes form independently from supercells. The outbreak produced the only F5 tornado on record in the state's history. Two barns were leveled and a pickup truck was carried .5mi (0.80km) through the air. Call us today to receive your Free Estimate! The storm was developing aloft and remain aloft across all of Clarion County. Many homes in town were destroyed, some of which were swept away with very little debris left. Its taken 30 years for man and Mother Nature to erase most of the physical scars left behind by the powerful tornadoes that ravaged eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania on May 31, 1985. Most of Europe, on the other hand, uses the TORRO tornado intensity scale (or T-Scale), which ranks tornado intensity between T0 and T11; F5/EF5 tornadoes are approximately equivalent to T10 to T11 on the T-Scale. Over a dozen tornadoes occurred in Ontario, with at least four F3s and two F4s reported. [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 tornado reportedly left more intense damage than the previous event did in Woodward. I was amazed at how that night produced the only F5 tornado to strike PA. That statistic remains so even today. 1985: A Tornado Goes Through the Neighborhood! **(With - YouTube "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. Here's the national data, from NOAA. Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. This might have been the same tornado that struck north of Tionesta but I am not sure. There were so many warnings the teletype got backed up a good 10-15 minutes. 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). This page was last edited on 14 April 2023, at 00:42. Trees will be compeltely debarked and . This tornado was rated an F4 and killed 23 people. Arriving for shift around3:45Central Time, departing lead forecaster Steve Weiss (now Chief of the Science Support Branch at the SPC) briefed us that a tornado watch recently had been issued for parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. As I took in all the devastation, I could not understand how so many actually survived. Some Midwestern counties have populations as low as one person per mile. High 46F. Nineteen buildings on two farms reportedly "vanished". "TORNADO!" Killer twisters also rampaged through northern Ohio, southwestern New York, and Ontario, in regions unaccustomed to encounters with the most ferocious storms on earth. Multiple locations were found. ), For casualties, Brooks said, you have to have tornadoes, you have to have people.. Pennsylvania Tornadoes The former Thrift Drug Co. sent 5,000 pounds of items to the Shenango Valley. One notable survivor: 1 year old Elvis Presley", 10.1175/1520-0493(1939)67<176:tcmt>2.0.co;2, "Top Ten Deadliest Oklahoma Tornadoes (1882-Present)", F5 Tornadoes in the U.S. since 1950 (SPC/NOAA), Climatological Risk of Strong and Violent Tornadoes in the United States (Paper 9.4, Second Conference on Environmental Applications), Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Climatology (NSSL), List of strong tornadoes from 1879 to 2000, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_F5_and_EF5_tornadoes&oldid=1149715856.