The Furthest East F5 Tornado - May 31, 1985

Today we look at the Niles-Wheatland F5 tornado; the product of an incredibly potent tornado outbreak in 1985.

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The Furthest East F5 Tornado - May 31, 1985

[jimwestland]

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.

[maddyf]

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.

[adamevans]

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.

[wren]

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.

[Dobie_ByTor]

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.

[audreywinter]

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.

[oldhippiechick]

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.

[carnutis]

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.

[godelnahaleth]

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.

[adambuzzeo]

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.

[davparksoh]

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.

[apaceofchange]

There’s a lot of tornado and weather related content on YouTube but yours really does stand out as superior in its ability to explain how the complex weather phenomenon happens in an easily understandable way.

[eicher]

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.

[CatfishCounts]

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.

[chacaabbaylee]

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

[bigussmokesus]

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.

[jagclaw]

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.

[KayeDay]

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.

[RockReynolds]

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.

[rubenbehnke]

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!