I can't believe what I saw and heard on the news last night! First of all prayers to all the families affected. Secondly....were not supposed to get tornadoes!!! That's part of the deal! We deal with the snow!!! Dude things are getting weird in this world TBH.
A Tornado? In Western Pa? In May??
- Thread starter Usuallyunusual-partdeux
- Start date
May 1985. Northeast Pa. Look it up.
I think you mean northwest pa and northwest NY. I was a kid but remember it like yesterday. I believe multiple EF4 and EF3 tornadoes. In fact decades later you can find parts of the Allegheny national forest where the regrown trees are different heights than their neighbors indicating the path of where it went. I have pics somewhere of just the trees cut down in massive piles of debris
One of the few days I can kind of remember from my childhood was the tornado back in June of ‘98. It didn’t quite hit where we lived in Brentwood, but was close. My dad was working in Mt Washington too where it hit hard.
They probably mean North East, PA, the town which is located in northwest PA between Erie and NY
I lost a friend that day, who died a hero in that hurricane, Stanley David "Dave" Kostka.
"WHEATLAND, FARRELL — After 29 years, the devastation caused by the tornadoes on May 31, 1985, is no longer obvious. Passersby don't see upturned cars, demolished homes or sheet metal and siding hanging from trees.
But the memories of those images, of the people who lost their lives and of the events that transpired that day remain clear to many who were there.
Stanley David Kostka is a name that became synonomous with those who died. Kostka, 36, was umpiring a Little League game when one of the storms hit Wheatland.
He died saving two children, Christa Warrender and Keith "Zipper" Scott.
He's also been credited with saving 40 other people at the baseball field by alerting them to the impending danger."
I respectfully ask that everyone read the entire story from the link below as a way to honor and pay respect to Dave, a kind man who you would have loved to have as a friend too. May his memory be eternal...
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61903408/stanley-david-kostka
I don't know what was an actual tornado vs the winds associated with it, but I remember the Kennywood area getting hit pretty good about 20ish years ago (might be the '98 one someone referenced above) during baseball season (i.e. around May).
Then the day I closed on my house (May 2010), it was wicked out. I drove from White Oak to Fayette County to pick someone up, and there were times when I wasn't sure if my dumb ass was driving straight into the middle of a tornado. Street signs were uprooted and traffic lights were swaying and not working, initially. But then as I got close to my destination the sky was as ominous as I'd ever seen it and then I couldn't see six inches in front of me with the rain. Again, not sure if an actual tornado touched down but I do remember there being warnings for it.
Then the day I closed on my house (May 2010), it was wicked out. I drove from White Oak to Fayette County to pick someone up, and there were times when I wasn't sure if my dumb ass was driving straight into the middle of a tornado. Street signs were uprooted and traffic lights were swaying and not working, initially. But then as I got close to my destination the sky was as ominous as I'd ever seen it and then I couldn't see six inches in front of me with the rain. Again, not sure if an actual tornado touched down but I do remember there being warnings for it.
Kennywood was 2000 or 2001 I belive. I was still in Pittsburgh then and remember that storm as well. Massive trees down on Forbes between squirrel hill and regent square
I lost a friend that day, who died a hero in that hurricane, Stanley David "Dave" Kostka.
"WHEATLAND, FARRELL — After 29 years, the devastation caused by the tornadoes on May 31, 1985, is no longer obvious. Passersby don't see upturned cars, demolished homes or sheet metal and siding hanging from trees.
But the memories of those images, of the people who lost their lives and of the events that transpired that day remain clear to many who were there.
Stanley David Kostka is a name that became synonomous with those who died. Kostka, 36, was umpiring a Little League game when one of the storms hit Wheatland.
He died saving two children, Christa Warrender and Keith "Zipper" Scott.
He's also been credited with saving 40 other people at the baseball field by alerting them to the impending danger."
I respectfully ask that everyone read the entire story from the link below as a way to honor and pay respect to Dave, a kind man who you would have loved to have as a friend too. May his memory be eternal...
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61903408/stanley-david-kostka
Thanks for sharing his story.
Thanks for sharing. I did not know that story.I lost a friend that day, who died a hero in that hurricane, Stanley David "Dave" Kostka.
"WHEATLAND, FARRELL — After 29 years, the devastation caused by the tornadoes on May 31, 1985, is no longer obvious. Passersby don't see upturned cars, demolished homes or sheet metal and siding hanging from trees.
But the memories of those images, of the people who lost their lives and of the events that transpired that day remain clear to many who were there.
Stanley David Kostka is a name that became synonomous with those who died. Kostka, 36, was umpiring a Little League game when one of the storms hit Wheatland.
He died saving two children, Christa Warrender and Keith "Zipper" Scott.
He's also been credited with saving 40 other people at the baseball field by alerting them to the impending danger."
I respectfully ask that everyone read the entire story from the link below as a way to honor and pay respect to Dave, a kind man who you would have loved to have as a friend too. May his memory be eternal...
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61903408/stanley-david-kostka
That man was a true hero.
I left western PA that May (85) to work as a summer intern in the oil fields of Cherokee Oklahoma. I figured that I was heading right into tornado alley that summer. Little did I know that they would hit so hard back home in western Pa.
For the longest time, you could see the one path of destruction along route 228 from Rt 8 through Saxonburg. It is all grown back now. But I think it killed a few people in Saxonburg.
Tornado
Outbreak went from Ohio through pa. Albion, Pa had an F5 and where I live had a F5 destroy part of town and killed a few people.
I was in Potter county that day when that storm came thru. No tornado where we were but a violent scary storm. Found out about the various tornadoes the next day.
I went to Pitt with Rick Kostka....who I seem to recall was also from Sharon. I can only assume they are family.I lost a friend that day, who died a hero in that hurricane, Stanley David "Dave" Kostka.
"WHEATLAND, FARRELL — After 29 years, the devastation caused by the tornadoes on May 31, 1985, is no longer obvious. Passersby don't see upturned cars, demolished homes or sheet metal and siding hanging from trees.
But the memories of those images, of the people who lost their lives and of the events that transpired that day remain clear to many who were there.
Stanley David Kostka is a name that became synonomous with those who died. Kostka, 36, was umpiring a Little League game when one of the storms hit Wheatland.
He died saving two children, Christa Warrender and Keith "Zipper" Scott.
He's also been credited with saving 40 other people at the baseball field by alerting them to the impending danger."
I respectfully ask that everyone read the entire story from the link below as a way to honor and pay respect to Dave, a kind man who you would have loved to have as a friend too. May his memory be eternal...
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61903408/stanley-david-kostka
Rick was an awesome guy. I considered him a friend.
Sad tale, but a hero nonetheless.
Nah, Hollywood. Pretty coincidental too with the new Twisters movie coming out. What better way to get people to see the sequel.
It's much flatter there in comparison to southwestern PA, so wouldn't that mean chances of tornadoes are greater there than in Washington County?
I think you are thinking of a place called Atlantic
Thirty-year anniversary of 1985 Atlantic tornado
The Community News of Western Crawford County, PA. Based in Linesville, PA., The Community News reports on local events and official meetings.
Yeah......Okay. I remember that. But Albion was also almost completely destroyed.I think you are thinking of a place called Atlantic
Thirty-year anniversary of 1985 Atlantic tornado
The Community News of Western Crawford County, PA. Based in Linesville, PA., The Community News reports on local events and official meetings.www.communitynewslinesville.com
A look back: Tornado devastates Albion area, May 31, 1985
A look back: Tornado devastates Albion area, May 31, 1985
www.goerie.com
I remember having to go up there for something with a friend. The destruction was wild. Was really easy to see where the path of the storm went.
We went thru the destruction on Pennfield mountain on the way home that weekend. Unreal.
I was on the Liberty Bridge when it was approaching Mt Washington and inside the tunnel when it hit. It didn't look like the kind of tornado that you see in a movie or on the news from the great plains states. It was just a really dark colored (mix of dark purple and dark green) cloud. I'm pretty sure one passed over my apartment in Beechview that evening as well. We were under a warning. I didn't have a way to get to the basement. Looked outside to see if I could see anything and that same green/purple cloud was directly overhead, well above my building and moving at a pretty fast clip. The news later said that funnel clouds were spotted in that area. Pretty scary.
I grew up there. Took out about a third of the town.Yeah......Okay. I remember that. But Albion was also almost completely destroyed.
A look back: Tornado devastates Albion area, May 31, 1985
A look back: Tornado devastates Albion area, May 31, 1985www.goerie.com
People in 2024: “The media is out of control with sensationalism and clickbait headlines.”Yeah......Okay. I remember that. But Albion was also almost completely destroyed.
A look back: Tornado devastates Albion area, May 31, 1985
A look back: Tornado devastates Albion area, May 31, 1985www.goerie.com
Erie Newspaper in 1985 after devastating tornado: “Death from the sky”
25 people were killed in Albion alone. 51 in NWPA, I think almost 100 overall. Pretty apt headline if you ask me. Shows you how far we have come in warnings/tracking information because I don't think even the strongest storms in the midwest have caused those death tolls.
Yeah I was thinking the same with the obituary story linked above. To be out in an open field playing baseball and the only warning is to see the twister and then run....it's crazy how far meteorology has advanced and easily have saved lives.
Great documentary. Thanks for posting. We were in that area that day fishing and getting ready to hit another stream when we looked to the west and saw the blackest sky I ever saw. A buddy and I decided not to chance it and fled to the Wharton tavern a couple hundred yards down the road. The other 3 guys hit the stream and were right in the middle of the storm when it hit. Luckily no tornadoes dropped buy it was a scary time.
PA averages 18 tornado touchdowns a year. Really no difference in the region of the state as far as the odds of one hitting....Nothing weird other than constant 24/7 digital fear mongering.
