Two violent F5 tornadoes destroyed much of Xenia and Sayler Park (a western suburb of Cincinnati) in Ohio. But what causes that to happen? Depending on how they actually came together, the amount of U.S. "real estate"could either be as was drawn or would be just barely in the States as the lift swept by just northof us. Among contemporary meteorologists, this was considered one of the most intense tornadoes observed up to that time. Then-Gov. The deadliest tornado of the day touched down near Jamestown, Pennsylvania along the Mercer and Crawford County line around 5:20 p.m. 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). The increasing stream of reports made it difficult to maintain situational awareness of ongoing meteorological developments as the night progressed. I grew up in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia and was in high school in May 1985. More on that later. Had I not turned around when I did, it is conceivable that I could have eventually seen the tornado and, perhaps, would have gotten caught up in it. This massive tornado swept away or leveled 235 out of 247 structures, more than 90% of the town, killing or injuring a third of the population. Back on May 31st 1985, the state of Pennsylvania was the epicenter of a severe tornado outbreak, the deadliest in our state's history. Two large homes were completely swept away. Gregg did extensive aerial photography of the 1985 tornado event. As you can see from this GOES satellite image, the storm covered much of the region and was concentrated mainly over . At 4:10 pm, the NWS Office in Cleveland issued the first severe thunderstorm warning of the day for Ashtabula County. It was rated F4, traveled more than 60 miles across rough terrain, and at times had a damage path width of around 2 miles. My father always listened to the scanner at night and his room was across from mine. Tragically, the tornadoes hit where people live. As mentioned earlier, wind shear, or more importantly wind shear of the right magnitude and direction, will cause thunderstorms to rotate, which is a precursor to tornado development. The Top Five Deadliest F/EF5 Tornadoes. READ MORE: Mr. 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. We flew over Kane which was directly hit. ), For casualties, Brooks said, you have to have tornadoes, you have to have people.. The peak period in the central United States is early spring, with the crest of the wave gradually rippling eastward later in the spring and in June. Storm Events Database. I worked 3-11 shift at the local hospital in Greenville PA. I checked in and was told victims were coming in. Chance of rain 90%.. Light rainmixing with snow overnight. (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. Homes and entire farms were swept away, and cars were carried for hundreds of yards. It brought home just how quickly and tragically a tornado can change lives. Post it on our Facebook page or on Twitter using #1985Outbreak.
