More Tornadoes This Year in Clarion County Than Last 30 Years Combined

CLARION CO. (EYT) – For those who are wondering just how unusual the weather has been in Clarion County this spring, well, it’s a record-breaker.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Clarion County has seen five tornadoes in 2017.

Between 1986 and 2016, there were only four tornadoes in the county.

From 1950 to 2016, there was a total of just eight funnel clouds recorded by NWS.

“It’s certainly an anomaly,” said Fred McMullen of the National Weather Service. “There’s really nothing to explain it. We don’t do the odds of such occurrences, but I’d say it’s well less than one percent of it happening like that.”

The latest tornado in the area touched down on Monday, June 19, in Elk Township along Millerstown Road.

There were several reported sightings of a funnel cloud along with one person confirming it reached the ground. The only structural damage was to outbuildings and barns with sheet metal roofs.

Hardwood trees were used to determine the rating as numerous trees were uprooted or snapped along the north side of Millerstown Road.

The storm tracked across Millerstown Road just east of the 598 postal address and uprooted and snapped several additional trees before lifting just prior to reaching Pine City Road.

It was rated an EF0 on the enhanced Fujita scale, which means that wind was no greater than 85 miles per hour.

Two of the updated total of 13 confirmed Clarion County tornadoes were rated EF2. The first was on June 1, 1954, and the second was on July 19, 1996.

Fortunately, most have occurred in rural areas, but one did hit near East Brady on July 23, 1978, and another hit near Knox on June 1, 1954.

Venango County has nine recorded tornadoes from 1950 to 2016. Most recently, one hit on May 25, 2004.

Venango County has seen a pair of EF4 class funnel clouds, both on May 31, 1985, when a number of tornadoes tore through the northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania, killing 76 people, destroying homes and property and tearing large swaths through the forests.

One traversed the entire central part of the county, just north of Sugarcreek and Oil City and just a bit south of Hasson Heights.

The May 31, 1985, storm also produced three separate tornadoes in Forest County, all rated EF4. According to the National Weather Service, by the end of the evening, a total of 41 tornadoes had occurred in the United States and Canada. Twenty-one tornadoes tracked across Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania during the evening of May 31.

Of these 21, one was rated an F5, and six were rated F4s. Tragically, these tornadoes killed 76 people in Ohio and Pennsylvania. This day remains the deadliest tornado outbreak ever documented in Pennsylvania.

When the tornado continued east along its forty-one mile path of destruction, it crossed the state line and slammed into the community of Wheatland located in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. The tornado destroyed nearly the entire town of Wheatland, and seven more people were killed. The tornado finally lifted south of the town of Mercer after damaging or destroying more than a thousand homes. Injuries were in the hundreds.

The deadliest tornado of the day touched down near Jamestown, Pennsylvania, along the Mercer and Crawford County line around 5:20 p.m. This tornado was rated an F4 and killed 23 people. The tornado stayed on the ground for more than an hour and produced a 56-mile long damage path. Along the way, the town of Atlantic was virtually destroyed. Cochranton, Cherry Tree, Cooperstown, and Tionesta were also hard hit.

Fatalities occurred in all five towns and also at a mobile home park north of Franklin. The tornado finally lifted near Tionesta after destroying 371 homes.

Five other tornadoes also affected Crawford County on May 31, 1985. An F3 tornado killed two people in Centerville with an F2 killing one person near Linesville. Over a thousand homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in the county.

Erie County was also affected by devastating tornadoes on May 31, 1985. The first of two F4 tornadoes to affect the county touched down just west of the Pennsylvania state line around 5:00 p.m. The tornado moved across the northwestern tip of Crawford County and then entered Erie County near Pennside.

After causing considerable damage there, the tornado slammed into Albion leveling the town. A ten-block area was completely destroyed with nine people losing their lives. The tornado killed three more people in Cranesville before finally lifting.

There were also 82 injuries with a total of 309 buildings destroyed. The second F4 to affect Erie County touched down between Wattsburg and Corry in eastern Erie County. This tornado stayed on the ground for 45 miles but fortunately killed no people.

Jefferson County has had 12 in the last 66 years, with the two most recent occurring August 21, 2014. They were both rated EF0.

Jefferson County has seen three rated EF2.

Two hit on July 19, 1996, passing through the southwest part of the county, then touching down near Punxsutawney.

The other EF2 occurred on July 11, 1976, with a track of several miles, passing just east of Brookville.

Additional severe weather history for the region can be found at weather.gov/pittsburgh/torclimo.


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