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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Impact of worst tornado outbreak in Mercer County still felt 40 years later
The last few years have proven that tornadoes do happen in western Pennsylvania. We've had dozens of touchdowns since 2021. But nothing has ever come close to what happened forty years ago on May 31, 1985. The single worst tornado outbreak in Western Pennsylvania's history. 16 tornadoes on our side of the state. Four of them, EF4s and the only ever recorded EF5 in Pennsylvania, ravaged much of southern Mercer County. Fortunately, then 12-year-old, Nikki Patrina, and her family weren't home when the EF5 tornado badly damaged their house. Every single tree on their one-acre property was damaged or destroyed. Sadly, the Patrinas lost their next-door neighbor when her home's chimney collapsed on her. For others, survival that day might have been a matter of luck. It was an outbreak that not only impacted people's lives but also how they responded to severe weather. 'After that, I was an eighth grader here at Ingomar Middle School in the North Allegheny School District. My science teachers, Mr. Glaspey and Mr. Meyer, had weather radios we would use in class sometimes. We knew that was going to be a bad weather day, and I begged my teachers to let me take one of the weather radios home for the weekend. Mr. Meyer was a little hesitant, but Mr. Glaspey said 'Go ahead, just don't break it.' I took the weather radio home and listened to five straight hours of tornado warnings,' said Patrina. Carla Hudson was only one year old, living in Farrell, just south of Sharon, in Mercer County. Even though she has no memory of that day, she does believe that knowing about the tornado and how her mother reacted afterward could have possibly impacted her fear of severe weather as a child. 369 million dollars in property damage in Pennsylvania alone that day. Today, with more communities, more businesses, more people, the death toll and damage could be far, far worse. Historic. Not an overstatement at all, especially for those who lived through it four decades ago. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On This Date: The Joplin EF5 Tornado
In a spring of historic tornado outbreaks, a single late May tornado in southwest Missouri was the mic drop on a truly terrible 2011. On May 22, 2011, 14 years ago today, an EF5 tornado tore a six-mile long and up to mile-wide path of devastation through Joplin, Missouri. One hundred fifty-eight people lost their lives directly due to the EF5 tornado, the nation's deadliest tornado since 1947, which was before tornado warnings were routinely issued. Its damage scar was difficult to put into context, even by many experienced meteorologists. (MORE: What Our Meteorologists Haven't Forgotten About Joplin) "The western half to two-thirds of the track featured defoliated and debarked trees, scouring, parking blocks scraped from the ground with the rebar and deposited well away from parking lots, a lot of debris loading as it progressed," John Gagan, science and operations officer at the NWS office near Milwaukee, and a forecaster at the Springfield, Missouri, NWS office at the time of the tornado, told in 2021. According to an NIST report, 553 businesses and 7,411 homes were damaged or destroyed, affecting than more than 17,000 residents. The tornado produced about 4.1 million cubic yards of residential and commercial debris, according to "32 Minutes in May," a book published by the Joplin Globe. The Joplin tornado remains the costliest single tornado in modern U.S. history, with damage estimated at $3.98 billion (adjusted for inflation to 2025). It was one of 48 tornadoes on May 22, including an EF1 in the Minneapolis metro that claimed one life. A mid-April South and Carolinas outbreak was followed less than two weeks later by one of the nation's worst Super Outbreaks. This boosted April 2011's tornado tally to a record for any month in the modern era (758). Just two days after Joplin, a May 24-26 outbreak of 186 tornadoes killed 18 in the Plains and South, including an EF5 tornado through El Reno, Pedmont and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On This Date: Oklahoma's Official Record Hailstone
Hailstorms are a fact of life in the Plains. But occasionally a severe thunderstorm manufactures a hailstone that sets a record. On May 23, 2011, 14 years ago today, a research group chasing a supercell thunderstorm in southwest Oklahoma recovered a 6-inch diameter hailstone in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, north of the town of Gotebo. Pictured below, that hail was larger than a grapefruit, even a DVD. Fortunately, the research team preserved the giant hailstone, though the roof of their chase vehicle was damaged in the hailstorm. While there had been previous larger hailstones reported in the Sooner State in April 1961 (7-inch diameter) and April 1971 (8-inch diameter), meteorologists investigating the historical data since 1950 could not find sufficient documented evidence for those larger stones. Thus, this became the official Oklahoma state record hailstone. America's official record largest hail was an 8-inch diameter stone in Vivian, South Dakota on July 23, 2010. This Oklahoma hailstorm happened the day after the Joplin EF5 tornado and would be followed by an outbreak of 186 tornadoes from May 24-26, including an EF5 tornado through El Reno, Piedmont and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sculpture memorializing tornado victims transferred to Cornell Complex
A sculpture honoring the 161 lives lost in the 2011 Joplin tornado was officially transferred from Active Lifestyle Events to the Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex on Thursday, the 14th anniversary of the storm. Standing 17 feet tall, the stainless steel sculpture near Eighth Street and Joplin Avenue resembles the banners used during the former Joplin Memorial Run and bears the names of the 161 people who were killed as a result of the tornado the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Active Lifestyle Events, the organization that oversaw the Joplin Memorial Run, created the sculpture, and, as a final act of the organization, officially transferred ownership of the sculpture to the Cornell Complex. Its location near Eighth and Joplin Avenue is significant because it marked the start/finish line of the original Joplin Memorial Run. 'While Mother Nature did her very best effort to wipe Joplin from the map, the citizens of this city and this community refused to allow that to happen,' said Audie Dennis, former president of Active Lifestyle Events. 'Rather than do what typically happens in natural disaster situations and flee, our citizens stayed and helped each other and rebuilt our city, I would say even better than it was before. What a tribute to this community. At the same time, we want to continue to honor and remember the 161 lives that were taken from us that day. We'll never forget.' Dedicated in November 2022, the sculpture was created by local artist Jorge Leyva and took about six months to complete. 'Jorge Leyva spent a lot of time coming up with this, and it was a very important project to him,' Dennis said. 'He did a great job accomplishing exactly what our vision was. To me, personally, this sculpture represents the resilience of this city and the fact that we not only look forward and rebuild but also that we remember. Our theme of the run was always, 'Run, Remember, Rebuild,' and I feel like it accomplishes all of that. It's a tribute to the runners, the rebuilding and to those we lost.' Dennis said the Joplin Memorial Run became known for its banners that listed the names of the tornado victims and that it was appropriate to incorporate the same design into the piece. 'It was a no-brainer, and we reached out to ... the board here and asked if they would be willing to allow us to transfer ownership of the sculpture over to them,' Dennis said. 'They very graciously accepted, and for me personally, it means a lot that it will be continued to be taken care of and continue to be a great memorial to those that we lost that day.' Sharon Beshore, president of the Cornell Complex, said that they're grateful to care for the sculpture. 'This sculpture stands, not only as a piece of public art, but as a deeply meaningful tribute created to honor the 161 lives lost in the devastating EF5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, 2011,' Beshore said. 'Fourteen years later, we continue to carry those memories with us, and this sculpture ensures that those memories will remain part of our city's living history.' Beshore said the sculpture serves as an additional way to memorialize the victims of the storm with a centralized downtown location.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
How does southeast Kentucky's fatal ‘mile-wide' tornado compare to 1974 Super Outbreak?
KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Southeast Kentucky experienced one of the strongest and deadliest tornadoes in over 50 years on Friday, May 16. Friday's storms took the lives of 19 across Pulaski, Laurel, and Russell Counties. The last time Pulaski County suffered a tornado fatality was on April 3, 1974. This storm was part of what would become known as the 1974 Super Outbreak. Who are the 19 southeastern Kentucky tornado victims? The 'Super Outbreak' targeted a 13-state stretch of the U.S., reaching from Alabama to Michigan. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the storm holds numerous tornado-related records to date, including the most EF5 tornadoes in a single outbreak and the second most tornadoes produced in a single day. It's remembered as one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. The NWS reported that 335 were killed across the nation and over 6,000 were injured. The storm reportedly produced 148 tornadoes, 30 of which were EF4 and EF5. CEOs, community join in act of generosity for Laurel, Pulaski County tornado victims Justice Department moves to cancel Louisville police reform settlement How does southeast Kentucky's fatal 'mile-wide' tornado compare to 1974 Super Outbreak? 'I remember this day well. The worst tornado in Madison County went through the area of Cottonburg and headed on towards Richmond. Near Cottonburg, we heard reports of people hurt and help was needed to open the roads, so we headed there from our home near Kirksville,' David Hagan wrote. 'When we finally got there, one family had spotted the tornado and left their house to get in their car to escape the storm. They never made it. They had managed to reach the car and get the doors open, but the tornado got them before they could get inside. The dome light was still on. That memory has stuck with me all these years.' The most destructive was an EF5 that hit Brandenburg, killing 31 and injuring 257. 'The racket was terrifying, and everything in the house, as well as the house itself, was shaking violently. At one point, I swear, the roof lifted up, and you could see outside between the top of the wall and the ceiling,' Juia Ross, who was a young girl at the time in Brandenburg, recalled. 'I turned around, sat down, and put Fifi [the family dog] on my lap. I rocked her back and forth and said, 'We're gonna die, Fifi, we're gonna die.' I wonder sometimes if I missed my moment. In that moment, I was ready to go wherever we go from here. I'm not sure I'll ever be that ready again. The house settled back down, the noise left, and it began to rain. I remember looking up at the ceiling and wondering how what I saw could be true, and if it was true, how it could have gone back together the way it had.' The fatal Pulaski County tornado was determined to be an EF3, according to the NWS. 'Neighbors and family members came to our basement to seek shelter, and we lay on a mattress most of the night listening to the radio and wondering what would be next. The rain and hail pelted our house, and thunder and lightning so intense it sounded as if it was right on top of us,' Daniel Wilson, who reportedly lived near the Pulaski County line, said. What hit Pulaski County in 2025 is comparable to the 1974 Super Outbreak, peaking at EF3 with wind speeds of 140 miles per hour near Eli. But this was just the beginning of what would become an over 55-mile track as the storm grew stronger. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Once the tornado reached Laurel County, it had grown to an EF4 with maximum wind speeds of 170 miles per hour. According to the NWS, it's also believed the tornado was nearly a mile wide at its widest. Laurel County experienced the most fatalities from Friday's storms, taking the lives of 17. For the southeastern Kentucky area, the 2025 tornado is now considered the strongest and deadliest storm in the area's history, surpassing what the region experienced in 1974. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
