United States-Canadian Outbreak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

United States-Canadian Outbreak of 1985

Date of tornado outbreak:

May 31, 1985

Duration¹:

~8 hours

Maximum rated tornado²:

F5 tornado

Tornadoes caused:

41+ confirmed

Damages:

$980 million (2005 USD)

Fatalities:

Areas affected:

Southern Ontario, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Upstate New York

¹Time from first tornado to last tornado
²Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The U.S. - Canadian Outbreak was a rash of tornados that occurred in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, on May 31, 1985. Forty-one tornadoes were counted. It is the largest and most intense tornado outbreak ever to hit this region.

The small Pennsylvania town of Wheatland was nearly wiped out by a massive tornado, the most violent of the 41 recorded that day. Registering F5 on the Fujita scale, it was one of the most powerful tornadoes ever observed east of the Mississippi. The only F5 in the outbreak, it was also the only F5 in Pennsylvania history. It started by touching down in Ohio near the Ravenna Arsenal in Portage County. Gathering strength, it moved quickly into Newton Falls in Trumbull County, causing F3 and F4 damage through Newton Falls and Lordstown. As it neared the PA border in Niles and Hubbard township of eastern Trumbull county, it created its first F5 damage. When it reached Mercer County, PA, it was a half-mile wide monster packing winds estimated at 300 mph. At Wheatland Sheet and Tube, the asphalt was scoured off the parking lot, and shards of sheet metal and routing slips were left wedged beneath the remaining asphalt. 95% of Wheatland's business and residential area were destroyed. The tornado finally ended near the city of Mercer, 47 miles from where it began its trek, after killing 18 people and injuring 310.

Elsewhere, an F4 tornado cut a 65-mile swath through a forest and through the town of Lock Haven in northwestern PA — so powerful that it shook the ground nearby. Parker Dam State Park still bears scars from this storm. A third tornado largely destroyed the center of Albion, Pennsylvania. Several other F3s and F4s rampaged through sections of the Allegheny Mountains and many state Parks. Most deaths in PA occurred in these areas.

Another of the more notable tornadoes that day struck in Barrie, Ontario. Killing 12 and injuring 155, this F4 was one of the most powerful in Canada's history.

The outbreak lasted roughly from just after 4pm, when the first tornado touched down in Ontario, until 11pm when tornadoes struck central and southern Ohio. In all, 88 people lost their lives. It was the third costliest tornado outbreak in the history of the U.S., where it caused $450 million (1985 U.S. dollars) damage in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. It was also one of the costliest in Canada: damage in Ontario totalled an estimated $100 million USD. The damage would total nearly $1 billion in 2005 US dollars.