Tornado Outbreak of June 1998

The June 2nd 1998 Tornado Outbreak

9 TORNADOES CONFIRMED IN 2 JUNE TORNADO OUTBREAK

TORNADOES RIPPED THROUGH PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...

NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND GARRETT COUNTY MARYLAND DURING THE
EVENING OF TUESDAY JUNE 2, 1998.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH CONFIRMED 9 DIFFERENT
TORNADOES.
 

                      JUNE 2ND TOUCHDOWNS
 

-BEAVER COUNTY PA

AT 530 PM EDT...AN F1 (EF-1) TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN SHIPPINGPORT IN BEAVER
COUNTY AND TRAVELED EAST 7 MILES BEFORE DISSIPATING AT 540 PM EDT.
THE MAXIMUM WINDS WERE NEAR 100 MPH...CAUSING WIDESPREAD TREE AND
POWER LINE DAMAGE. NUMEROUS HOUSES SUFFERED MINOR TO MODERATE
DAMAGE...MAINLY TO SIDING AND ROOFS. THE DAMAGE WIDTH WAS AS WIDE AS
300 YARDS ALONG THE PATH OF THE TORNADO.

AT 730 PM EDT A TORNADO OCCURRED IN BEAVER COUNTY JUST TO THE SOUTH OF
THE TORNADO THAT RIPPED THROUGH THE RACCOON AREA. IT WAS A
RELATIVELY SMALL TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH ABOUT 250 YARDS AND A
WIDTH OF 25 YARDS. IT WAS SPOTTED BY AN EYEWITNESS.

THE TORNADO TOPPLED 50 TO 100 CHERRY TREES AND DAMAGED A HOME.

ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS WERE ABOUT 70 MPH (F0 INTENSITY) (EF-0).

-ALLEGHENY/WESTMORELAND COUNTY PA

A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY AT 555 PM EDT.
THIS TORNADO WAS ALSO CLASSIFIED AS AN F1 (EF-1) STORM WITH WINDS REACHING
AS HIGH AS 110 MPH. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST NORTHWEST OF
CARNEGIE AND TRAVELED A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 32 MILES INTO
WESTMORELAND COUNTY BEFORE DISSIPATING AROUND 628 PM EDT. THERE
WERE AT LEAST 50 INJURIES REPORTED. FORTUNATELY...THESE INJURIES WERE
RELATIVELY MINOR. SOME OF THE TOWNS AFFECTED WERE INCLUDE CARNEGIE...
MOUNT WASHINGTON...HAZELWOOD...IRWIN AND MANOR. THE DAMAGE WIDTH
VARIED FROM 200 YARDS TO AS WIDE AS 800 YARDS. THIS TORNADO AFFECTED
HUNDREDS OF HOMES AND SOME BUSINESSES WITH AT SOME STRUCTURAL
DAMAGE (ROOFS, SIDING, SHINGLES, CHIMNEYS ETC). IN ADDITION, A
LARGE NUMBER OF TREES WERE UPROOTED/SNAPPED ALONG ITS PATH.

Photos of tornado damage in the Mt Washington section of the City of Pittsburgh. 

-ALLEGHENY/WESTMORELAND COUNTY PA

A WEAKER F0 TORNADO WAS CONFIRMED BY AN AERIAL SURVEY TO CROSS FROM
SOUTHEASTERN ALLEGHENY COUNTY INTO WESTERN WESTMORELAND COUNTY
BETWEEN 820 AND 825 PM EDT. THE TORNADO FIRST TOUCHED DOWN NEAR
GREENOCK IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY. IT THEN TRAVELED ABOUT 1 MILE BEFORE
DISSIPATING IN WESTERN WESTMORELAND COUNTY...ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF IRWIN. THIS TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND ONLY ABOUT 5 MINUTES. THE
DAMAGE WAS CONFINED TO A RELATIVELY SMALL AREA ABOUT 50 YARDS WIDE.
THERE WAS AT LEAST ONE STRUCTURE IN WHICH THE ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF
AND THERE WAS ALSO TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED.

-WESTMORELAND COUNTY PA

AN F1 (EF-1) TORNADO WAS CONFIRMED OVER SOUTHERN WESTMORELAND COUNTY NEAR
DONEGAL BY AIR AND GROUND SURVEYS. AROUND 650 PM EDT THE TORNADO
CROSSED OVER THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE ONE MILE WEST OF EXIT 9 AT
DONEGAL. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ITS EAST-SOUTHEAST TRACK...EXITING THE
COUNTY AT AROUND 710 PM SOUTH OF THE TURNPIKE IN A DENSELY WOODED
AREA. IT LEFT BEHIND AN INTERMITTENT 100 TO 200 YARD-WIDE SWATH OF
UPROOTED/SHEARED-OFF TREES AS IT TRAVELED A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 8
MILES. ONE INJURY WAS REPORTED AS AN EASTBOUND TRACTOR TRAILER ON THE
TURNPIKE WAS TIPPED OVER INTO THE MEDIAN STRIP.
 

-FAYETTE PA/PRESTON WV/GARRETT MD

AN F2 (EF-2) TORNADO WAS CONFIRMED BY GROUND SURVEY AS IT PASSED EAST-
SOUTHEAST THROUGH SOUTHERN FAYETTE COUNTY PA...THE NORTHEAST TIP OF
PRESTON COUNTY WV...AND INTO NORTHWEST GARRETT COUNTY MD. THE TORNADO
APPEARS TO HAVE STARTED JUST SOUTHWEST OF ELLIOTTSVILLE IN FAYETTE
COUNTY AT AROUND 935 PM EDT AND MOVED ALONG AN EAST-SOUTHEAST PATH...
PASSING INTO PRESTON COUNTY WV AT 945 PM. THE TORNADO PASSED QUICKLY
THROUGH THE NORTHEAST TIP OF PRESTON COUNTY AND INTO GARRETT COUNTY
MD AT 950 PM...DISSIPATING JUST SOUTH OF THE TOWN OF FRIENDSVILLE AT
AROUND 1000 PM. DAMAGE ALONG THE 12-MILE LONG PATH OF THE TORNADO
INCLUDED A DESTROYED DAIRY BARN AND TWO HOUSE TRAILERS...SEVERAL
BUILDING WITH ROOFS PARTIALLY PEELED OFF...AND UP TO A 300 YARD-WIDE
PATH OF SHEARED OFF/UPROOTED TREES. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED BY
COUNTY OFFICIALS OR THROUGH INTERVIEWS WITH AREA RESIDENTS.

-GARRETT MD

A GROUND SURVEY TEAM CONFIRMED THAT AN F2 (EF-2) TORNADO PASSED THROUGH
THE EXTREME NORTHEAST TIP OF GARRETT COUNTY MD AT AROUND 940 PM...
PASSING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF FINZEL. THE TORNADO WAS ROUGHLY ONE-
HALF MILE WIDE AS IT PASSED THROUGH FINZEL...DESTROYING SEVERAL
BUILDINGS INCLUDING A GARAGE AND A SMALL HOUSE. NO INJURIES WERE
REPORTED.
 

-FAYETTE COUNTY PA

A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST ON THE FAYETTE COUNTY SIDE OF THE
FAYETTE/SOMERSET COUNTY BORDER ABOUT 900 PM. THIS TORNADO
WAS AN F0 (EF-0)...HOWEVER IT EVENTUALLY REACHED F3 INTENSITY AS IT MOVED
SOUTHEAST THROUGH SOMERSET COUNTY. THE WIDTH WAS ABOUT 50 YARDS
WHILE IN FAYETTE COUNTY. TOTAL PATH LENGTH IN FAYETTE COUNTY WAS ONLY
ABOUT ONE-QUARTER MILE.

-JEFFERSON COUNTY PA

AN F1 (EF-1) TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 2 MILES WEST OF RINGGOLD IN
JEFFERSON COUNTY ABOUT 645 PM. IT HAD A PATH LENGTH ABOUT 1.25
MILES AND A WIDTH OF ABOUT 100 YARDS. TREES WERE TOPPLED AND
SNAPPED. SEVERAL BARNS WERE DAMAGED INCLUDING ONE TOTALLY
DESTROYED. SEVERAL SILOS WERE ALSO DAMAGED. THE WATER WAS
COMPLETELY EMPTIED OUT OF ONE POND. ROOFS WERE ALSO DAMAGED. WINDS
WERE ESTIMATED TO RANGE FROM 100 MPH TO 110 MPH.

Photos of Ringold Tornado courtesy of Russ Kennedy of Worthville