The Furthest East F5 Tornado - May 31, 1985
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2022
- Today we look at the Niles-Wheatland F5 tornado; the product of an incredibly potent tornado outbreak in 1985.
Ron Alfredo's full video (a MUST watch!): • 1985: A Tornado Goes T...
Shawn over at Stormstalker has catalogued this outbreak with unfathomable detail over the course of several years. If you haven't already, please check out his page: stormstalker.wordpress.com/20...
NWS CTP page with personal stories: www.weather.gov/ctp/TornadoOu...
NWS CLE page: www.weather.gov/cle/event_198...
NWS Disaster Survey Report: www.weather.gov/media/ctp/198...
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.
The Furthest East F5 Tornado - May 31, 1985
I was a budding 19 year old meteorologist, having just finished my freshman year of college at Penn State's Erie campus. I worked the morning and afternoon at a grocery store in Erie on May 31, and remember clearly how hot and especially humid it was. I mean, I'd experienced the heat before, but the humidity of that day is what stuck with me all these years.
My shift was done around 430 pm, and on the drive home I noticed the "hardest" looking cb clouds I'd ever seen. Those clouds looked like they were made of white and gray marble. And explosive development and growth. I knew something bad was up.
Got home, turned on the local news, and watched the tornado warnings start to come in. It got real when they mentioned Albion getting hit, since that was diagonally across the county from me. We kept the tv news on while we ate dinner, and (being the meteorologist in training in the family) I made sure the path to our basement was unimpeded should we need to make a break for it. It was an intense couple of hours.
Later, after I transferred to the main campus of Penn State for the 86-88 school years, I would drive though several of the paths whenever I made a trip home to Erie. The (previously) wooded hills around Tionesta always stood out to me.
That day, and it's significance, will always stay with me. And I think back to it often, now that I'm on the other side of the information stream and issuing the warnings for others.
I used to drive Erie to Brookville on Route 36 and was in awe of the tornado path there and in Cooks Forest. I started my first job that following Monday in Meadville and devastation was everywhere. Atlantic, most people don’t know, was mostly Amish. Quite sad.
@@maddyf8398 Yet another story from someone who experienced that extraordinary outbreak as it took place in NW PA. The video we're all replying to has brought our recollections of 5/31/85 back in a poignant way. Good to hear from another witness (if not real time first hand) and survivor.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Penn State's meteorology department remains a leading authority even with the advances in forecasting and technology that have passed since '85. Back then I was a regular viewer of Fred Gadomski & Co. on Weather World viewed via analog TV from Franklin on WPSX Channel 3.
I went to Penn State back in the late 1960s and was planning to major in meteorology. Since the math and physics courses were too hard for me, I ended up changing my major and became a school teacher instead (teacher of Spanish, ESL, and bilingual ed). I'm semi-retied now, focusing on medical interpreting (English / Spanish). Originally from Philadelphia, I currently live in the San Diego area.
Thank you for sharing your story
I was in a swimming pool in Stow, OH about 25-30 miles west of Newton Falls on this day at about 5:00PM. I remember it like it was yesterday. The storm clouds developed VERY quickly and were different than any I'd ever seen. The storm did pass over us quickly with no rain, but pretty windy. As the sky cleared and the sun came out, I had ridden my bike about 1 mile to the east to my home. My family and I looked to the east (toward Newton Falls), and we saw a funnel cloud drop and then rise back up. Not soon after, the news reports began coming over the radio and TV. We were incredibly lucky that day and I still feel sad for the people that suffered loss on May 31, 1985.
What pool in Stow, Leisure Time?
@@afridgetoofar1818 Independence Place. My friend lived there.
@@adamevans998 I see. I lived in Munroe Falls in ‘85, though I live in Stow today.
My family and I was eating at Burger Chief on Tallmadge Circle I can remember the sky was a strange color, then we went to K Mart afterwards that when we heard there was a Tornado we got home my Aunt and Uncle who lived in Stow went to Niles and Newton Falls to work with emergency services they was and are HAM radio operators.
No, you did not see the funnel cloud drop and rise back up in Newton Falls from Stow -- through Kent, Ravenna, and West Branch -- while you just happened to be looking east.
People in Warren couldn't even see it while it was still in Newton Falls.
The tornado also travelled from Newton Falls east through Lordstown, Niles, Liberty, and Hubbard and into PA before it "went back up" -- flirting with the southern borders of Warren, Howland, Vienna, Brookfield and Masury along the way.
My family lived at Vienna Center, in the house right next to the Presbyterian Church, for 18 years.
I remember that day very well. My dad retired that day and came home to our “windows breathing” and the worst humidity ever. He handled Risk Mgmt for a hospital system and the phone rang. When I answered it, I heard “Code 99”.. it was the hospital calling - I was used to Code Red (fire) but never heard of code 99 . I said “Dad, Code 99”, and he looked at me with shock on his face and grabbed the phone. Code 99 was the “Community Disaster” code. He wrote that plan in the 1950s and they never used it til the day he retired! We aren’t used to major disasters in this area other than snow. The Albion Medical Center the hospital owned was destroyed, doctors and nurses were summoned in to help, triage at the ER was enacted, etc.
He ended up working another few months to work out the kinks of the plan. Many lives were lost. It was a very sad day in Western PA and Ohio.
That is an incredible story.
Very incredible story. Did he go back in?
@@j.b.3825liar
@@tspot816loser
I remember this day vividly. I lived in Beaver County, PA at the time, and as a child I was both fascinated by and terrified of tornadoes. My eyes were riveted to the TV all evening long, taking in the news reports. And then... the sky went a spectral green. I knew what it meant. My mother insisted we couldn't get tornadoes in our area because of the hills, but after that night, she never said that again. The scars from the F3 that obliterated the Jamesway in Big Beaver Plaza and vaulted the Beaver River are still visible, almost 40 years later.
This is the event that made me terrified to this day of storms.
Wow
That was the cell we rode out near East Palestine, OH. It produced a smaller tornado near Columbiana then lifted before dropping the Jamesway tornado near Darlington.
I was young but I remember it as the Jamesway Tornado. That store just disappeared.
Which way? Conway......
Thanks for posting this. I was 17 and pitching a baseball game in Trumbull County and saw these storms. Black as night. Part of a thunderstorm hit us during the game and we took shelter, it passed, and we kept playing. After the game, we went to Belmont Ave to get dinner and electricity was out. In Girard, citizens were directing intersection traffic for emergency vehicles that were rushing down 422 toward Niles where the storm had hit just previously. “TWISTERS SMASH AREA. MANY DIE” was the headline of the Youngstown Vindicator the next day. The devastation was unimaginable. It began a lifelong journey to understand the tornado.
I lived in Girard at the time, and I was in kindergarten. We saw it going across the horizon, but it didn't come towards where we were. But when we tried to go to a store in Niles the next day, we saw all the destruction, and it didn't even look real. And I'll never forget a store that had a big ceramic gorilla outside in the front, and the ceramic gorilla was literally the only thing standing while everything else around it was flattened, and there was a sign hanging from the gorilla saying how it survived the tornado.
OMG I haven't thought about that gorilla in years! I grew up & went to school in Niles. We passed him so many times, & my Dad always said he survived the tornado, I wasn't
sure if he was bs-ing or not!
Gorilla lives on at a new location, in Austintwn :)
living in Barrie, I've heard many stories about the EF4. My dads family lived on top of the hill at the time. The house I live in sustained some damage but was repaired but there is still some small pieces of wood lodged in between the bricks in one spot. Coincidentally, a tornado warning was issued just a couple hours ago. Fantastic video as always Steve, I really enjoyed this one.
last years was pretty similar location/path as well, wild!
Barrie really gets all the storms and tornadoes. Even last year an EF2 struck Barrie at a similar path to the F4 in 1985. There’s just something about that town. I think it could be the lake breezes which help fire off the storms. Even in the winter, Barrie could get huge dumps of lake effect snow from Georgian Bay.
@@NapiontekMapping I think some poor Angus folk had some roof tiles come off as well. But the poor garbage can.
@@NapiontekMapping true it does follow NE
I remember going through Barrie just after the 1985 tornado struck, I was 14 years old at the time. I couldn’t believe my eyes from the sight of the damage. I really personally believe that it was an EF-5. Without Doppler radar back then, the people of Barrie just thought that it was just a regular thunderstorm coming, not realizing that it was a rain-wrapped EF-4 tornado that was about to demolish their city. They were totally caught off guard.
I survived the F4 in Elimsport Pa, not many scars that you can see in our valley, but many of us have mental scars from that night that still remain. 2 of my neighbors died, and there was so much devastation. We always thought the mountains would break them up, but this one went right over the mountain like nothing, you could see the path right down the mountain. What made it worse is this all happened at night, but when it came through there was constant flashing from what we thought was lightning.
When we headed to the basement you could see what looked like the house was breathing. My step father opened windows and doors, then he got sucked out the door, but he survived. He watched our barn get taken, we had no outbuildings left, but surprisingly the house was spared, but damaged. This is one tornado that will not be ever forgotten. Stories are still getting passed down to the next generations. One thing that both my mom and I both recalled from the day, was the stillness, the high humidity and the lack of birds and other noises. That day was off, but what came was nothing we ever expected.
I have several friends from Pennsylvania who survived the Albion, PA tornado. One person was just east of Interstate 79 and stopped to look around at debris along the northbound lanes of that interstate and found thousands of dollars, probably from a bank in downtown Albion. He turned it into a police station in a little town called Lawrence Park, just east of Erie. The officers there asked him why he didn't take it to a closer police station and he told them that with the threat of twisters right and left, he decided to drive to a safer location and turn it in there. They thanked him, and sent him on his way.
There’s a lot of tornado and weather related content on UA-cam but yours really does stand out as superior in its ability to explain how the complex weather phenomenon happens in an easily understandable way.
Good point 🎯
I just found this channel and that was exactly my first thoughts! I subscribe to many different weather history/storm channels but I gotta say this one is among the very best of not the best!
My dad was working (still works at) the Wheatland Tube Steel Mill in Wheatland PA. He was at work during the tornado, it ripped half of the steel mill away and destroyed countless other mills and buildings. He, along with others began working their way through the rubble trying to find people, he always talks about this one guy that was found where a local bar used to be, now just a pile or rubble, all they could see sticking out of the debris where his cowboy boots, somehow those managed to stay on as the rest of his clothes were torn away by the force of the storm. That guy lived. Another story, a local baseball (or football I can't remember) coach had stayed around after practice with the kids whos parents were running late when the storms came through, they had no shelter so he threw the boys 4 or 5, in a culvert and dove on top of them. All 5 lived, the coach didn't. I think they dedicated a park or something along those lines to him. It's those kinds of stories you don't hear when you hear people try to cover these storms, how could they with all the information they need to convey. So many people lost and lives changed. My mom was living with my dad in a trailer park at the time, half the park was gone, luckily their side made it. I'm thankful the storm spared them both.
He was a mail carrier by day and with his uniform still on he would pad up put on his face mask and umpire a game that evening
@@ericjones8031I didn't know that thanks for sharing
Dude, Love the low-tech, 3D explanation of the set up for this storm. Beats most pro After Effects stuff U see on tv. Great job! Subscribed.
Totally agree! That was a great way to explain it.
My mom was out and about in Niles that afternoon, and being so close to the weather event has instilled a deep seated fear into her since. Its rubbed onto me, but as I get older I become more interested rather than scared. This outbreak from 14 years before I was born is one of the main reasons I'm so interested in weather as an adult now
My dad was in his teens and was working at an arbys in the area near where the beaver falls/zilienople tornado hit. He described the sky being green despite him being a few miles away from the actual tornado and that he didn’t even know a tornado had even hit the area until he heard ambulances and other emergency services going north. After his shift was over a little bit later he got in his car and went north and found out through a police officer blocking the road what had happened.
...hm zelienople haven't heard that gross town name in a long time used to live there and never knew it had a tornado
Green sky’s are caused by hail in the supercells not from the tornado.
The green is a result of the hail. But since tornados are usually followed by hail storms, they get mixed up. Green skies don't necessarily indicate tornadoes
@@luisramirez2548 Sky turned copper green when I was a little kid once. Thought it was just a tornado sky all these years, Mom feared one, so thank you! (First major was Marine Geology so definitely got some meteorology in before I switched to a new double major). She had me come inside right away. Never before or since saw a sky just like that one, and I have actually seen small tornadoes dropping (That was in central Florida), sky went that color the one time in Flushing New York. May well have been hail nearby. Definitely was one HELL of a thunder storm.
@@ekramer2478 yea green in the sky is never a good sign. Either getting lots of hail or potentially a tornado. Stay safe yall
I haven't seen my house since it was hit by the tornado because it was torn down shortly after. We lived next door to the Ashland Oil Refinery. I didn't know photos existed of this area. Thank you for producing this information. As you can see my house was almost crushed by the oil holding tank that ended up on the road in front of our house.
Great job Steve - you did a thorough job here! As a meteorologist specializing in tornadoes and applied mechanical engineering, this storm (along with Joplin 2011) are, like you stated, 'storms of a lifetime' due to the incredible intensity of the damage done to heavy industry, commercial - which is way beyond damage done to any neighborhoods, farms, plazas, & forests (which mainly don't survive direct hits with F/EF 3-4 ranges). There have been discussions in the engineering fields of adding an F6/EF6 rating for storms with winds calculated in the ranges of 380 - 400+mph due to damage that challenges our current understanding of atmospheric physics - and leaving structural/civil engineers in shock when damage paths are analyzed. Storms on this level are really beyond the scope of meteorology, and better quantified by personnel trained in advanced physics, material science, engineering, & quantum mechanics. The power needed to obliterate reinforced concrete & torque a major hospital tower's upper floors approx. 4-6 inches out of vertical (Joplin), and bend, twist, shear & penetrate massive steel girders/I beams and partial parking lot removal (Niles, Wheatland) - these wind/debris loads can't be simulated in any wind lab in the world - not even close. So the current technology of mobile doppler radar is good for mesoscale analysis, but can't really quantify the complicated wind loading dynamics of major tornadoes - especially when urban/industrial areas are devastated that were built to the highest standards & codes available today. A basic way to understand is: (using F scales for example) F0 - F2 blows most things down, F3 - F4 blows most things away, and F5 - (F6) blows things apart - like explosive power - leaving damage paths with debris that is unrecognizable. With major tornadoes, inflow volumes, flow rates, funnel geometries, time, and debris all make these scenarios very complicated & aren't well understood - damage analysis/storm assessment is really in its infancy still.
I’m glad there are engineers who study tornado damage. Some scientists believe that within the main funnel of a tornado there are smaller vortices that could be spinning at nearly the speed of sound. Such vortices could explain the severe helical damage found in the aftermath of some violent tornadoes. I’m wondering if any evidence has ever been found to corroborate this theory. The damage caused by the April 3, 1974 tornado in Guin, Alabama seems to indicate the possibility of high speed inner vortices.
@@boardman49 You're absolutely correct railfan49! But what you're referring to is 'multi-funnel suction vortices' - this is different in scale than what I describe later in this comment. When storm damage goes beyond previous upper limits of intensity analysis, engineers are brought in to assess damage paths, because they're responsible for building our modern world - and what they've found in several storms left them speechless - they, along with hardened EMT's/rescue/fire have been treated for PTSD after F/EF5/6 storms while surveying debris fields strewn with powdered concrete/granulated asphalt, deformed & perforated main steel girders, and human/animal fragments - showing wind loading that is almost freakish. There is current research into how these atmospheric anomalies can happen - this is new stuff though, and isn't covered in meteorology or basic physics & new research books have to be written on this topic. Discoveries exploring these intriguing but rare displays of power are happening through work being done in aeronautical/aerospace engineering labs looking into exactly what makes objects fly - and sort of like you've stated, the formation of powerful mini suction vortices creating very strong partial vacuums on the sides & backsides of anything in the wind field - and along with the wind loads striking an object's front, these two forces can exert incredible forces not found using doppler radar scans of tornado wind fields (doppler is good for mesoscale analysis - not good at micro scale analysis - which is where these suction vortices often happen). I've seen this research labeled as 'shock loading', or 'hyper loading' - and the field of quantum mechanics looks into this with material resonance frequencies (or harmonic resonance - basically what happens to solid objects/materials subjected to varying power or load pulses over time and the reactions of solid matter/molecule frameworks absorbing these energies) - these terms are kind'a new, so the names may change depending on who's doing the research/literature. This topic has influenced several mediums - air/gases, water, solids, & plasmas. So what researchers are finding just on the topic of wind loading/suction vortices is that, like you wondered, air velocities can go to, and above the speed of sound (Mach 1) - which helps explain the incredible roar people hear during major tornadoes - and why some storms have done damage that is mind-boggling to structures or objects that one would think are indestructible. It's a combination of how the wind interacts with an objects size, shape, density, rigidity, weight, temperature, chemical composition, anchoring, time, - and debris loads - dirt will hit an object much differently than a Ford F450. These are exciting discoveries - a new branch of physics that looks into how well structures absorb these shock loads found in tornadoes, lightening, earthquakes, tsunamis - we have a lot to learn!
@@davparksoh this was so interesting to read, thanks! As someone who's moving from Cali to Texas soon, whats the best thing to do for tornado protection-is it the good old fashioned storm cellar, since from what ive read theres no way to truly harden a home against a tornado?
And if storm cellars are the way to go, are there any new developments, or is it as basic as "dig a hole big enough for your family and give it wooden walls & a cement floor"? What if the tornado came right over the opening-could it suck the people out?
@@merkitten953 Great questions! Ok, first thing to do is get familiar/educated with basic weather concepts - learn about Texas' climate, seasons, & extremes - a family understanding the science of weather & severe weather is critical to increase your odds of staying safe in your new region. Texas is a place of extremes - heat, cold, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, dust... it's got them all. Depending on where you move to, things can vary a lot - if you're moving to the Gulf coast regions (Houston, Brownsville, etc), many tornadoes are generated by hurricanes - and are usually weaker F/EF 0-2 - so it's possible to be in more danger from storm surge flooding/hurricane winds (go to shelters away from beaches, bays, rivers, or go to the center area of the 2nd floor of a solid commercial building without large roof spans, ex. not Walmart, Lowes, school gyms - large ceiling spans can collapse or be lifted off & thrown). If you're moving inland, from about San Antonio/Austin north & east, these regions can get powerful tornadoes most of the year, so yes, if your residence doesn't have a basement (many don't in Texas), investing in a storm cellar is a good thing - you may never need one... until you need one. Even well built homes wont survive a direct hit with an F/EF 3 (due to debris loads & time, some tornadoes stay in an area & don't move on - subjecting structures to longer periods of destruction). I'm not an expert on storm cellar designs/options, but if you build one, make sure it has supplies stocked for several days - dry foods, bottled water, radio w/extra batteries, blankets, a bucket, warm clothing, whistle/horn (in case of waiting for debris removal - rescue teams may take a while to get to your location. F/EF 0-2 tornadoes happen regularly in Texas - F/EF 4-5 + are rare, but when they happen, it can be total devastation (see 'Joplin Mo. 2011' footage), so be aware, prepared & educated. A cellar at least 10 below ground with 3 - 5 ft. of earth between the top of the cellar and the ground level above is good, because much of Texas has loose, dry, sandy soils that are often sucked up & scoured away from locations during strong storms. Steel or concrete room liners are robust, but are more expensive to build. And yes, if a strong tornado moves over a cellar built just below ground level, if doors, latches, etc. aren't able to withstand the pressure decreases and impacts from debris that can be splintering houses, cars, trucks, trees - the cellar could be left exposed & anything in it could be sucked out, so having a cellar with a living space away from the door, portal, etc. is a good idea (Niles Ohio 1985 F5 ripped part of a large parking lot out of the ground - mail from that area was found 350+ miles away in Ontario Canada) - also hold onto or go under a heavy duty steel table in the cellar for extra protection. If you can't build a cellar, reinforce an interior room, hallway, or bathroom (plumbing in the walls helps to keep room intact), & hide under bedding or a mattress while crouching in a tub - there are several easy steps to take to increase your likelihood of surviving an event - I've been doing storm monitoring/field research for 35 years & have written/illustrated several children's books on this subject. Best wishes for your family - stay safe & aware!
@@merkitten953 Yes. People have been sucked out of underground storm shelters.
I didn't experience any tornadoes, but I remember 31 May 1985.
--- I was a C-130 Nav at Youngstown Municipal Airport, about 10 miles north of Youngstown, on Rt 193.
--- 31 May was a Friday, and the June Weekend Drill was the next two days: Saturday and Sunday.
--- Many Reservists, including me, volunteered for "Inactive Training", the Friday before a weekend drill.
--- A couple of crew lived in Newton Falls, and at least one witnessed that tornado. I heard that some crew had children at a Roller Skating Rink that was hit, but I believe all crew member families were OK.
That Friday evening was WEIRD. The sky was GREEN. In late afternoon, there weren't any clouds directly over the base, but there were towering clouds on both sides of the base. Small branches and other material came floating out of the sky. Never saw that before or since.
The Nav who landed about 6:00PM, said that he saw the distinctive "Hook" on his radar, indicating a tornado, about six miles south.
The base sent a number of personnel, to help with cleanup, especially portable generators.
I drove around a little on Saturday night. It's weird when there are ZERO LIGHTS.
I was born in March of 86 in Sharon Pennsylvania. A town just 2 miles from Wheatland. I've heard a lot about that tornado my whole life. I'm glad it has been recognized. It devastated our area for years. Thank you for the video and amazing information. I will now follow for more awesome videos.
Thanks Nicholas!
You just missed the fun 😉 I remember so many roads being closed even not that close to where it went past as it just wrecked everything. Didn't stop me from having to go to school the next day and everyone in West Middlesex was counting their blessings as it wiped out those houses going out towards where Sheetz is now.
@@wesrrowlands8309 on longview? across from combine bros?
as current resident of hermitage, the fact that 37 years ago both our mothers had the same idea in mind,
Kinda spooky. only difference is she had me on Oil City soil on 3/16.
@@LarrySwishamane Yes. That's where it is.
Thanks for focusing on some Canadian tornados! No one ever really talks about them on their channels and the way you educate in your videos are amazing. Very easy for me to understand!
Thanks Sarah!
I lived through that particular storm in Niles, Ohio and this was my first time hearing that there were also strings of tornadoes in Canada that day. He did a great job explaining it all.
"Thankfully the Soviet Union couldn't use F4 tornadoes as weapons"
10/10 commentary
My entire family was gathered for my grandfathers funeral in Sherman NY. My Aunt lived in Xenia Oh in 1974 during the super outbreak, so she started herding people to the cellar and filling jugs with water. The sky was so green, and the tornado hit just to the south in Corry PA. They lost some trees in Sherman that day.
My mom was working in the hospital when this happened lived in Warren, Ohio. She remembers being at the top floor of the hospital evacuating patients to the lower levels and watching this tornado cross the street. Struck the old roller rink they had that my mom grew up going to it really rocked the entire community.
I'm guessing Trumbull hospital since St. Joe's wasn't as tall
I live in warren co. OH
My mom too. She worked in Pediatric.
I grew up in Ashtabula County, I was 12 that day & there was a tornado that tore thru the town of Windsor, Ohio next to my town. The line of missing trees was very noticeable for many years after.
I was so terrified that I had a go-bag ready & slept with shoes on for the next 3 tornado seasons...ready to run to the nearest road ditch since we were in a trailer in the middle of an open field.
Thanks for doing this & for saying Ashtabula properly!
As a kid, I checked out the book, "Tornado Watch 211" from our local library over and over again. The book fascinated me as it described how the forecasters were expecting storms to develop earlier but they didn't, how the storms developed extremely quickly, and then the destruction that resulted. Your videos really bring me back to my childhood, as you discuss events (Hesston, Andover, and more) that shaped how I became so interested in weather, and tornadoes, of course. VERY cool!
Have a copy of that book here in my office! Was going to recommend it but you beat me to it. Very detailed account of most of the major tornadoes that day.
There's a video from the 1986 International Disaster Management Conference where Don Bloom, who had been one of the first responders to the NIles tornado, talking about emergency response planning and the need for coordination between emergency services.
ua-cam.com/video/GoBfFk1h-ME/v-deo.html
I was going to recommend this book a lot. Little Lucas is just heart breaking. Can be hard to find, I had to inter-library loan the last time I read it but is a good read.
Same here. Best book ever written
F5 through a place that I'd passed by countless times on my way to West Virginia or Pittsburgh. Crazy to learn that an F5 went this far out there into the Ohio Valley.
It's not the Ohio Valley... The upper Ohio Valley is two counties south.
@@jessica3548 Well, aren't you just a lil correcting machine!
my mom was born and raised in lordstown; she told me a horrific story about how her family was driving when it touched down, and that they had to ask a stranger to house them while it passed. its still a matter of legend to this day. everyone has a grandparent or parent or other relative that watched their town get destroyed
My future wife at the time (we met a year later) was working in a computer store at the Niles Park Plaza and luckily survived the F5 direct hit. The next day (Saturday) was my first day working as a flight instructor out of KYNG. Many of my flights throughout the summer were surveys of all the paths shown in your video. I knew them all by heart. The lush green landscape was marred by brown swaths that went on for many miles. I remember the PA Amish community were the quickest to rebuild which was quite a sight to see throughout the summer. Now I’m a retired airline pilot with thousands of hours of dodging these nasty storms and not missing it. I’m also a weather enthusiast and always keeping track of weather patterns, using whatever tools and apps (such as radar scope) available to track weather threats approaching family and friends’ specific locations. I’m always looking to improve my toolbox. Great video description of an event I witnessed. Thank you.
Ill never forget this day. The sky was soooo green. Live in warren. Thank God didnt go to the roller rink on top of the strip that day!!
Thank you for covering this!
My family has a connection with the Niles tornado, and it is a tornado that I personally have seen the effects of carry on to this day. My Grandfather lived in southern Warren at the time, and although he never got rain or wind, his power went out and was not restored until a day later. He said it was eerie listening to the reports come in from Newton Falls and Niles, with his new wife and kids trapped at work or on the roads. My mother and uncle were almost caught by the tornado as it travelled parallel to the Ohio Turnpike, having tailed it since it touched down. They intercepted the damage path at the Newton Falls interchange, and said that there was nary a tree still standing. Had they merged on to the interstate 10 minutes earlier, I might not be typing this comment right now. My father's side of the family doubtlessly came close to being hit by the tornado as it neared peak strength, but were spared by the fact that they lived north of the track. I've driven the entire length of the path hundreds of times, from the touch down point at Ravenna Arsenal past New Castle and Wheaton. Newton Falls in particular has not looked hot since the tornado. Anyone in Trumbull county can tell you where they were that day, down to the minute. And as bad as that tornado was, we need to remember how lucky we were that it tracked over mostly smallish towns, considering that it could've easily occurred in Warren, Pittsburgh, Erie, Cleveland, Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Ashtabula, or even Somerset. And considering how this was one of the most powerful tornadoes on earth at the time, who knows what it would've done to those cities. That Moshannon F4 is also a force to behold, as a tornado of that magnitude could've easily been just as strong or stronger than the Niles F5. A tornado like that should be feared to the highest degree. I would not be surprised if Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, or Delaware saw a similar outbreak in the near future, as tornado activity starts shifting further east. I'm especially concerned for Maryland given that the mountains and the bay there seem to aid tornado development, and that there's now a major population center in the middle of the state, with no sirens or shelters. Just a matter of time.
As someone who grew up in Maryland, I definitely agree with the lack of shelters and sirens in major cities. However, you'd be surprised bc the people here are actually very aware of tornadoes. We don't get actual touchdowns very often, but every year we get 5 or so storms that come with a tornado watch or warning and every public school has multiple tornado shelter drills every year, designated shelter areas, and talks going over what to do when near a tornado environment. During my last year in high school we had a baby tornado touch down for like a second about 10 miles away from my school and everyone was absolutely staying on top of the news in case it came any closer. Hopefully as tornadoes start appearing more east, sirens and the like will start getting installed.
@@hedgelynik5321 When I was in high school I had a similar experience, we had two tornadoes pass through my town within a week of each other. I was at home at the time, and since I lived in a shoddy house in a poorly built subdivision, decent shelter was hard to find. I settled for sitting on the bottom stairstep in the basement. Most other houses in my area at the time were like that too. The good news was that people were well aware of the storms and in the case of the first tornado, I saw the wall cloud lowering in the distance 5 minutes before the touchdown. The ideal way of getting warnings in the DMV area would be a combination of better mobile warnings and sirens, neither of the two are super reliable unless I'm in northern or eastern Maryland
I grew up in warren but lived in Newton Falls when it hit. Im very familiar with that day.
@@CYCLONE4499 I was born just shy of the 20th anniversary. I first visited Newton Falls in 2018 and the tornado path is still clearly visible through the center of town, because there's not many trees. I'd heard from my grandparents that you could still find tornadic debris in some areas around Newton Falls as late as 2008.
Man, I can't emphasize enough how good you explain weather! Honestly, this might be the best explanation I've seen to date, and I've been a serious tornado/severe weather nerd for OVER 45 years!
Keep up the great work and content!
P.S. Have you ever considered doing live streams to report severe weather outbreaks all over the US in real time? There are a few channels I watch and I personally believe you would be great at it. You got a gift for understanding and then explaining complicated weather to the average person.
I have to agree 100% Anthony, I too have been a weather nerd for right at 50 years now. And I have to say, the cutouts, the plastic cylinder, the plexiglass of the winds, Never have I seen it done so well. I really enjoyed that and I think it will help people understand the making of a storm a little easier, Good work.
@@stubby8663 I agree!
Add me to the chorus of praise! I'm delighted to have found Steve.
@@williamsstephens I also am quite happy I just found this channel. Subscribed. He is on my short list of those I think quite good. Favorite chaser is Pecos Hank.
As my comment seems to echo what you’ve said. What an excellent teacher. He’s got a gift.
My grandparents talked about this storm when I was a kid (they lived in Andover, Ohio approx 5 miles north of Route 322, where the Atlantic township tornado went thru). I never was able to fully understand it from them, thank you for sharing this information! This had quite a bit of local history in it that I was unaware of prior to watching, it’s nice to see someone talking about stories from small towns like Jamestown PA and Ashtabula County OH in general :)
This is an extremely well done production! And no software generated voice makes it even better!
Thanks for this video! I was 10 years old then, living in Trumbull county. My Girl Scout troop spent the day at Geauga Lake. We had a scary drive home with tornado reports all over the radio. Seeing houses completely gone along Chestnut Ridge Road, and the steel mill damage in Wheatland made me afraid of storms for decades. There was no internet back then, so I just thought all tornados were like that one.
Happy Weatherbox Wednesday! Although Tornado season may be effectively over, we still get your content to tide us over until next year.
its not over my province had multiple tornadoes on the first of august
Oh we are not done. GFS has us in a very active period
@weatherbox excellent analysis! One small note - the photos of the Niles-Wheatland F5 were from the Village Plaza - the Niles Park Plaza was about a mile to the south of there, where some of the worst F5 damage happened
Great analysis! You mentioned 1985 being an interesting weather year and the great freeze...just after that (1/25/85) a summer-like squall line of thunderstorms swept through far southern PA and northern MD. There was St Elmo's fire on metal surfaces prior to the storm, we received 5" snow in 45 minutes along with gusty winds and lightning. I have never seen anything like it since.
And Hurricane Gloria.
@@plawson8577 also the flood of 85 that devastated almost all of northeastern WV.
I'm just outside of Niles and it was crazy to have a tornado like that come through the area. If we do get a tornado its usually very short lived and doesn't do much damage.
Dude your channel is going to blow up. One of the few UA-camrs that deserves it. Top notch research and content.
I lived in Mercer County, very close to Wheatland. I remember playing outside with my cousins that day. It suddenly started to hail. The hail was huge with spikes. A neighbor called my grandmother to the backyard to see a tornado coming at us (I didn't know that at the time). Grandma ran full speed, arms waving, to round up all of her grandchildren (at least 2 dozen). The older ones scooped up the younger who were slower, and we headed into her basement screaming and crying. She had us sit on the floor, she sat on a chair and we huddled around her as she tried to calm each of us down. Other family members were at a graduations and other events.
There was also a little league baseball game going on in Wheatland at the time of the tornado. Some took shelter in the concession stands, others just had to get in ditches and pray for the best.
I was 6 and remember playing in my grandparents yard in Hartford, OH (just north of F5 track). I still remember how dark and scary the sky turned extremely fast; scariest storm I’ve seen. We went home and got in the basement. Had no clue about the extent of the overall storm system. Great video!
I think folks in Hubbard had a good view of it too, I vaguely remember my Grandma mentioning it.
@@wesrrowlands8309it literally went through Hubbard, just south of the Brookfield border
I've been waiting YEARS for a deep-dive into this outbreak, how it formed, and just how massive and destructive it was. I was three years old living in Erie, PA when it happened. I have very vague memories of it, but my parents, relatives, and older colleagues have told me their memories of it and stories from it. A terrifying day to be in NE Ohio, NW Pennsylvania, and southern Ontario to say the least. Thanks for this and all your awesome content!
My mother in law was in that tornado in Nyles! Her and her father were safe in their basement, their house had to be rebuilt, but I’m thankful they were safe
Funny enough her cousin was actually the mayor of Niles when the tornado hit
Its been almost 30 years since I watched Twister for the first time. And after all this time i finally understand the line in the beggining where Haynes says "caps breaking just off the dry line"....you sir have a gift. Keep doing it. You are already saving lives. God bless you man
Love this!! Thank you so much!
@@weatherboxstudios hope your amped about the new movie
Everybody gangsta till an EF5 hits freaking PENNSLYVSNIA
Living in PA myself I can confirm that this was way out of place
14 years ago there were a few tornados in New York City when I was there. Most of them were like F0 or something but the highest was F3 I heard. Nonetheless that's insane 😂 I never saw it as it was happening and I laughed when my cousin told me.
Lived in southern Ontario at that time, spent many hrs driving the 400 north to Barrie for skiing.
Crazy hwy in winter!
Of note, Canada has provinces instead of states.
"Canadian provincial history", would be way to say this.
Really liked the visuals you used to explain the terminologies of whats going on.
Great video!
I think he means state as in a governed territory, basically just means the same thing as ‘in canadian history’
Geographically speaking, thats the point.
Province or Provincial.
If its Canada as a whole as the reference, then its Nation, or National.
State never enters into it from a geographical perspective.
@@golsonmoldon9455 when speaking about the entirety of a nation, the word state can also be used as a synonym. Take "State run media" as an example. Although in the case of Canada, you cannot use the phrase "nation state" to describe it as there are multiple nations in one state. nation being cultural, state being territorial, thus Quebec, French NB and French NS, and native reserves can be considered as separate nations within the same state. However with French and indigenous culture being a major part of Canadian identity, It muddies the thesaurus.
@@HoagMurkula Thanks for the clarification.
The nation appreciates your effort
@@golsonmoldon9455 lmfao
Wow! I’m thoroughly impressed with your work on this video. It’s really impressive that you included all of the historical pictures, videos, and even the weather charts! You earned a new subscriber.
Lived in Austintown Oh in 85 about 10 miles from Newton Falls and Niles
I remember tossing a football with my brother around the time the tornados hit and the sky had a weird green tint.
The next morning I learned my first grade teacher and friend of the family had been killed in Niles. The car she was driving in had been picked up and thrown. 35+ years later I still think about her and that entire day.
HUGE fan of your analogies and illustrations when explaining the conditions in all of your videos. Great work!
Came across this video by chance. Like your style young fella! The map, column and plexiglass likely taught me more about how tornados can form than the 100’s of tornado videos I’ve seen. I could see how the rotation would start before you pointed it out. Well done. Sold and subscribed. Looking forward to watching your library.
Really appreciate your way of explaning. Not too much drama and clickbaity stuff, but interesting storytelling, easy to follow and a nice depth of detail (i.e. the companies impacted and the population decline) as well as a nice and intuitive explanation of the atmosphere. Keep it up dude, I´ll check you out more often.
Fantastic job, Steve! Impeccable documentation, writing, presentation, and articulation (narration). Truly the best historical tornado presentation I have seen on UA-cam. You have what it takes to do anything you want! Keep up the phenomenal efforts and I'll look forward to more of your videos.
Thank you for this video! I really enjoyed your model on how tornados form. I was looking for something like that on UA-cam the past few days, but couldn't find anything. Your way of explaining how tornados work just made sense to me. Keep up the good work!
I was working my 24 hr. shift at the RFD. I just remember it was the worst storm I ever went through. You could tell something was up because of the green sky. The Ravenna arsenal is on the most Eastward location in our response area. About I think maybe 20 minutes or so after the storm past us, we were called to Newton Falls to assist in search and rescue. What a mess, it reminded me of pictures and videos of the F5 tornado in Zenia, Ohio.
I love the model you make at the beginning of this video. As a science teacher I think those kind of visuals are needed for most people to understand.
Man your lil demo is grate ,it's hard too imagine how all that stuff comes together but whenever you did your demonstration . Things become clear to me and I understand good job thank you for sharing
great detailed explanation. I live close to Newton Falls, OH and remember that day as I was 10. Had family in Newton Falls that lost homes and a garage that was just literally picked up and blown away with no evidence left of it anywhere. Took a long time to recover from that.
My dad worked in Niles, I remember my mom wigging out because he was going to be in Newton falls that day. He came home before it hit Niles. We lived in Youngstown about 15 minutes away I remember the sirens kept going off but we never got hit. The damage was unreal for years you could see leftover damage. It could have been worst right across the street from that plaza is the Eastwood mall it got skipped over thank goodness.
Such a good point about the mall.
My Mother was a Teacher that worked in Albion on the day of the EF4 tornado. Definitely a very scarring experience as any signs of bad weather are immediately followed with tornado questions. Good video and nice content. You earned my sub.
The explanation of tornado formation at the beginning of this video is the best and most accessible I’ve ever see. Every other video I’ve seen or explanation I’ve read either has either been unnecessarily convoluted or cannot express the idea concisely. What’s presented here is something anyone can understand, and I view it as the gold standard of its kind. I’m truly impressed
I was in kindergarten when this happened. We live in West Middlesex about 10 minutes or so from Wheatland and had no idea what was going on other than high winds yet a few roads over right outside of West Middlesex there was bad damage. A few houses were shredded along one road and they found pieces of buildings in the swamps around Wheatland/Farrell.
My dad was about 12 when this happened. He lived just outside beaver falls. I had always been interested in tornadoes and storms so him and my grandfather would always talk about it. It’s great to finally see a video covering the outbreak
it"s crazy to hear your dad was 12 when Niles tornado hit !!? Because I was 22 and thought I had the world by the B----- ? Lol Crazy Day, that day ! By the way I lived in Suffield Twp. We just had little wind damage
Your videos are the best weather related videos that deep dive into these events, very underrated.
This video is put together perfectly. The model you made was spot on! Well done!
Bro, I'm so impressed with how this channel is progressing. Not just with subscribers, but also the quality and presentation. Keep it up!
Thank you!
@@weatherboxstudios very welcome!
I was living in Cleveland and remember the tornado warnings all day and the terrible destruction in Newton Falls and Niles. We were lucky that the storms moved east of us.
You have really got this weather history niche pegged. You have the most talent at describing severe weater with a clear and concise precision you make this topic truly enjoyable. If only every person could find that one thing that they are truly great at, like you are great at explaining severe weather.
Great video, it was very informative and easy to watch. You really know your stuff and the visual aid in the beginning was perfect. I've watched hundreds of storm chasing/analysis videos and never seen it set up that way. Awesome work!
We had one here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada thirty some years ago that was an F5. It took out the south and east side of Edmonton causing incredible damage. Strange thing is we rarely get tornadoes this far north and when we do they’re usually no more than an F2. It took us all by surprise.
You're a great narrator, Steve! Genuinely the best of the best when it comes to weather content on UA-cam. May I suggest the Grand Island tornado outbreak as a topic for a future video?
Thought the exact same thing. This is high caliber narration.
Awesome video. I really appreciated your work here. Growing up in central Pennsylvania I never was aware of this event when I was 19. But in recent years I have been fascinated by this day. I traveled more than once to the Parker Dam state park to walk the woods and ponder May 31, 1985 in my home state. Thanks for this great presentation and I really appreciated the detailed explanation of the conditions present that contributed to the resulting storms.
I definitely remember that day!! I could've lost my mom that day if it wasn't for a last minute change. She was supposed to work at a gas station near the skating rink on Youngstown Road in Niles, but at the last minute she was switched back to her original gas station. That gas station and skating rink was leveled by that F5 tornado. THANK YOU JESUS!!
I actually saw the top part of that tornado from our old neighborhood in Warren. Dark and gray!!
The moshannon F4 was at peak 2.2 miles wide and was destroying 80k trees a minute. There's a radar shot online of it from state college.
This is a local legend up here, and it's cool to see it get some scrutiny.
I only recently came across your videos because of a tornado chasing fix I went on UA-cam. I'm glad it recommended your videos because you go through all the effort to to teach why these massive tornadoes/t-storms and the aftermath that occurs which I really appreciate. I look forward to more Weatherbox Wednesdays!
I crave a good tornado sometimes too
I was 3 and living in Warren when the Niles tornado struck. I don't remember anything but my parents said the the weather was eerily calm that day before the outbreak. Great video, you provided a lot of information I had never heard before. Many thanks!
I remember this day like it was yesterday. I live in Niles, Ohio and I remember seeing this tornado coming. Thankfully my family got to safety. Other than seeing all the destruction, what got me the most was literally seeing a couple of caskets up out of the ground because the tornado ripped up trees and the roots of the trees pulled up the caskets out of the ground. Also, headstones in the trees and all over the place. It took out the convenient store across the street from the cemetery but didn't take the gorilla sign right next to the store. The sign never moved. Great video!! I like how you explain weather.
As a 12 year old boy I too was happy the gorilla sign survived.
I live in new castle only a few miles between beaver falls and wheatland, amazingly the small Weatland area is still a pillar of employment for the area. As a storm chaser I love storms but obviously hope we never experience that again, in this small struggling area.
Greetings from Pulaski/West Middlesex. We got lucky that this thing didn't hit Hermitage or it would have just sucked up the entire town.
These storms had a huge influence on me becoming a storm chaser I would love to see your work especially if it's local
Dude this channel feels criminally underrated. Good editing, good sources, and just an overall solid production. I’m surprised you don’t have 100k subs yet, you truly deserve it with the way you put this much work into each video. Looking forward to that milestone :)
Love your videos! So informative and well done
You and Swegle are my favorite weather doc channels
Fun fact: My uncle survived the Oakfield F5 tornado in 1996, he has a video tape that he still shows me of his hotel getting destroyed
love the content. please do a video about the 1998 central florida outbreak
My dad was about two years old when the F4 ripped through Barry Ontario, he lived about 10 miles from Barrie. At the time he drove in Barrie about five minutes after the tornado hit to be honest he was in Barrie Ontario when the tornado was passing over the lake.
THESE are the kind of weather videos I want to see! Not the dramatic essays explaining how the lives of all the residents will never be the same, but the science and history behind it all
When my mom as a little kid went to Yellowstone National Park & the strongest tornado in Wyoming History hit Teton & Yellowstone destroying my moms cabin that her family was staying at the tornado was an EF4 on July 21 1987 she survived along with the rest of her family, I don't know if anyone died from that storm but I highly doubt it.
I heard about this tornado, that would be cool if he did a video on this one
My mom was born in Columbus, Ohio & traveled to Yellowstone National Park.
Interesting, 1987 had several "out-of-place" violent F4 tornadoes. There were 5 recorded F4s that year, 3 in the US, 1 in Canada, and 1 in China.
The first F4 of the year occurred on February 28th near Moselle, MS, the only one of the F4s that year that was not "out-of-place." Saragosa, TX, in the westernmost part of the state that gets few tornadoes, got hit with an F4 on May 22. This of course was followed with the Teton-Yellowstone F4 on July 21. 10 days later, on July 31st, the infamous Edmonton F4 tornado would occur; July 31st in China also brought an F4 to Keshan County in Heilongjiang.
Fantastic video! It was fascinating about this outbreak and how you analyzed it!
Could you do the May 31st 1998 tornado outbreak and derecho?
This one is on the list! Will get to it soon
@@weatherboxstudios Cool!
I was just curious.
Thanks
I live in southwest PA so I have “some” recollection of the events covered in this video. This video is really well done - content, script, narration! Great job and thank you! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I love weather so much and I want to be a meteorologist now. You taught me a lot and you are very interesting to watch. Keep up the amazing work!
There’s some debate over the Worcester, MA F4 tornado. Some people think that should have easily been an F5. If it was, it easily would’ve been the most east.
This amazes me, I live in New Castle, PA and work in Youngstown / Painesville, OH. It just all feels so close to home and a little bit scary. 😅 My dad said he remembers this like yesterday!!
New Castle's been lucky as there's been some close calls with them out in Pulaski township, that one buffalo farm had debris. I'm in pulaski(closer to Middlesex) and we were able to see that tornado from the porch. We've had so many close calls in this area.
Awesome video. Thanks for putting this together.
I was in the Grand Valley tornado as it passed throug Dunkerron, Ontario. At home with my mom and brother, I was about to turn 4 and watched the storm come in through the picture window. Mom yelled for me to get away from the window, I hopped off my chair and went to her just as all the windows blew out. We were trapped in the living room and hunkered down beside the fireplace while mom covered us and prayed. Houses directly both east and west of our house were gone but ours just needed new roof and windows (my dad built our home 😉). The cars in our driveway were tossed around. All power lines were down. Some of my earliest memories.
What a awsome channel this is. So much information to understand tornados and weather better.
As one who lives in PA, I kinda have a fun little story. My mother use to live in Evans City in Butler county. The tornado that hit beaver falls, if I'm remembering what she had told me, had got rather close to where she use to live. My stepfather use to live up in Clearfield County, but was in college when this all happened. The 69-mile long wedge started roughly a mile from where my step grandparents lived and currently live.
I do recommend going to Parker Dam State Park as there is a road where they left tornado debris stay on one side and removed the debris from the other to see how nature takes care of things. You can walk through where the tornado had gone through.
I remember this tornado outbreak. In fact the Readers Digest did a story about it.
Thank you for digging up lesser known tornadoes! Great job 👍
My daughter is at dance in Newton Falls and I’m sitting here looking at the memorial in the town center dedicated to the memory of the tornado. We live in Ravenna now but we love this little friendly town. We are at dance a lot so it’s basically our second home. ❤
The Atlantic Tornado ended up near Tionesta. It passed through Cooperstown and Cherry Tree. I remember seeing tree damage roughly 15 years after the fact. If you look close, today, there are still some remnants.
Many locals in the Allegheny River Valley, had thought the mountains and hills would preserve them from cyclones.
Well produced @weatherbox! Did not disappoint and I learned some new things about this Outbreak.
PS: Tionesta = Tie On Esta. ; )
what kind of damage, i wanna see some if i ever end up there
and its weird since that tornado was an f4 even when going over huge cliffs
I can still see snapped trees near where I live in Sugarcreek, even though I was born in 2003
@@radar_the_fox North of town, about 3 or so miles on 62 is where it crossed.
@@radar_the_fox
Tree and horticultural damage. Brainy can show you. : )
I'd be obliged to take you to a couple places south of Titusville, should we meet.
I loved how he called Canada a State lol. My dad was visiting a friend only 10 minutes north of Barrie that day in Midhurst he said he has seen tornados before living in Alberta and Saskatchewan but nothing like what he witnessed that day.
Did I really... I apologize, I missed that! It will be interesting to see if southern Canada gets an increase in tornadoes in the next decades
@@weatherboxstudios It already has, I mean any cities along Lake Huron and Georgian Bay have seen increased severe thunderstorms and tornados in the last 10 years. I consider Ontario's Tornado Alley Starting from Windsor On right up to Ottawa and parts of western Quebec.
@@ianmurray2340 aka where everyone lives 😅
@@weatherboxstudios I have a theory that these super cell tornadoes are actually primitive gas lifeforms that tear up the ground and feed off the decay from the material it destroys when the gases of the debris goes up into the atmosphere. My second theory is that Coronal Mass Ejections cause tornadoes.
First of all I know I'm a year late on your post !? Just goes to show you !? Online these posts still get watched long after posts!! Which was long after Storm. You have a Great way of explaining weather phenomenons !! This was close to home for many of us. But loved to hear it explained !! Thank You! You've already gained another Fan
Born and raised in Youngstown Ohio! Was 2.5 years old when I got my first taste of weather
Studying the damage pattern, I still feel the Worcester Tornado of 1953 was a F-5.
I would love to see him do an episode on this tornado!
Seriously.
I live in RI (100 or so mins from Worcester) and I hear about the Worcester tornado almost as much as I hear about the Blizzard of '78, which is crazy because the tornado didn't hit here while the blizzard killed like 60 people here.
I guess this just means tornadoes are cool af
Barrie and Worcester are further east and definitely worthy of F5 imo