Tornado outbreak of June 2, 1998

On Tuesday, June 2, 1998, one of the most significant tornado outbreaks in recent history hit the east-central United States. The severe weather event spawned a total of 33 tornadoes in nine states from [New York County, Pennsylvania|York (state)|New York] to South Carolina and caused an estimated $40 million in damage, 77 injuries and 2 fatalities. For Pennsylvania in particular, it was the second historic and deadly severe weather outbreak in three days, as it immediately followed the late-May 1998 tornado outbreak and derecho.

Background

On June 2, the Storm Prediction Center outlined a Moderate risk of severe weather across a large portion of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States regions, allowing a series of shortwave troughs to undercut the vortex across the northern half of the country. Strong southerly flow ahead of a fast-moving cold front contributed to robust moisture return, with dewpoints in excess of into central New York, in excess of across the Washington metropolitan area, and in excess of into the Ohio River Valley. Combined with a very unstable atmosphere, exhibited by convective available potential energy values forecast above 3,000 J/kg, forecasters remarked on the potentially for a classic northwest flow event. Into the afternoon hours, a main shortwave accompanied by 500 mb winds up to pushed toward Lake Michigan. This feature enhanced a low-level convergence zone and surface barometric pressure falls associated with a lee trough east of the Appalachian Mountains, and generally contributed to widespread favorable wind profiles conducive for supercells. Given forecast storm relative helicity values of 300–600 m2/s2, the possibility of isolated significant, F2 or stronger on the Fujita scale, tornadoes were possible. Storms first developed across portions of Ontario southward into Ohio, and scattered supercells evolved across southern New York, Pennsylvania, the Delmarva region, and North Carolina over subsequent hours as the cold front continued eastward. This activity ultimately weakened as it encountered a loss of daytime heating and moisture closer to the coastline with the Atlantic Ocean.

Confirmed tornadoes

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time	Path length	Max width	Summary
F1	Smyrna	Rutherford	TN		08:15–08:17			The tornado destroyed a Grand Slam USA building, which had its metal beams ripped up and slammed back down onto the back of the facility. The wall was blown out of another business as well.
F0	SE of Saluda	Saluda	SC		15:28–15:31			A well-defined convergence pattern was identified in a swath of trees.
F0	S of Gallipolis	Gallia	OH		18:50–18:51			Numerous large trees were downed, which caused damage to about six buildings upon falling.
F1	W of Buffalo	Mason, Putnam	WV		19:15–19:17			A tornado destroyed a manufactured home and uprooted large trees. A man was injured after being pinned in his van by a fallen tree.
F1	SE of Charleston	Kanawha	WV		19:58–20:00			Trees were downed, some of which caused damage to homes upon falling.
F0	SE of Charleston	Kanawha	WV		20:19			An F0 tornado occurred southeast of Charleston. More substantial damage occurred from a severe hailstorm in the city, which dented hundreds of vehicles and damaged roofs.
F0	S of South River to Core Sound	Carteret	NC		21:15–21:45			A long-tracked but weak multi-vortex tornado damaged a few sheds and a boat.
F1	Shippingport to Raccoon Township	Beaver	PA		21:30–21:40			A trailer was destroyed and 23 houses sustained minor to moderate damage, mostly to their siding or roofs.
F1	Custer City	McKean	PA		21:45–21:50			A tornado caused extensive tree damage along its path, particularly leveling a large area in the Allegheny National Forest. These downed trees caused a majority of the damage to homes, with 7 homes rendered uninhabitable and 31 homes receiving minor damage. An oil museum was destroyed.
F1	NW of Carnegie to SE of Manor	Allegheny, Westmoreland	PA		21:55–22:28			A large and long-tracked tornado moved through the southeastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, affecting Mount Washington, Hazelwood, Rankin, Irwin, and Manor. The hardest hit locale was Mount Washington, where over 1,000 structures sustained damage, including roofs blown off and brick walls torn down. To the north of Baldwin, several railroad cars were blown onto their sides along a concrete railroad overpass. Trees were downed as well. Fifty people were injured.
F1	W of Ringgold	Jefferson	PA		22:45–22:50			One barn was destroyed and three others were damaged. Several silos, and the roofs of surrounding homes, were also damaged. The tornado drained the water out of a small pond as it moved over a farm.
F2	Orangeville to Castile	Wyoming	NY		22:45–23:00			A strong, multi-vortex tornado destroyed several structures, including barns, several buildings of a fertilizer plant, a modular home, and a hangar harboring three airplanes and a helicopter. Additional houses, garages, sheds, docks, manufactured homes, and larger buildings sustained severe damage. Trees and power lines were snapped or downed.
F1	Donegal	Westmoreland	PA		22:50–23:10			A tornado crossed the Pennsylvania Turnpike, overturning a tractor-trailer and injuring the driver. A manufactured home was also overturned. The remainder of structures sustained only minor damage to their shingles and siding, mainly the result of fallen trees.
F2	SE of Markleton to N of Salisbury	Somerset	PA		23:00–23:30			An F2 tornado intercepted the path of another tornado occurring just two days prior. A carpentry shop destroyed by that tornado, which was already being rebuilt, once again had its framing demolished. One house had its windows broken. A second house and a barn lost their roofs. A shed was destroyed.
F0	S of Shippingport	Beaver	PA		23:30			Between 50 and 100 cherry trees were toppled, and a house was damaged.
F0	NW of Irvona	Clearfield	PA		23:30–23:32			An F0 tornado damaged trees. It was accompanied by downburst winds that caused additional damage.
F0	Red Lion	York	PA		23:40–23:55			Crops and trees were damaged.
F1	SSW of Pitcher	Cortland	NY		23:50			A house had its roof almost completely torn off and front porch heavily damaged. Trees were snapped off.
F1	NW of Tyrone	Blair	PA		23:50–23:55			Significant tree damage occurred.
F1	E of Pitcher	Chenango	NY		23:53–23:57			Hundreds of trees were snapped, sheared off, or uprooted.
F1	Big Savage Mountain	Allegany	MD		23:56–23:58			Forested areas along the western ridges were damaged.
F0	N of Greenock	Allegheny, Westmoreland	PA		00:20–00:25			A roof was blown off a structure, and trees were downed.
F0	SE of Cumberland	Allegany	MD		00:21–00:23			Trees were damaged.
F1	E of Fort Ashby	Mineral, Hampshire	WV		00:36–00:46			Siding and trim were ripped from homes, a gazebo was destroyed, and several trees were snapped or uprooted.
F4	SE of Indian Head, PA to Frostburg, MD to N of Cresaptown, MD	Fayette (PA), Somerset (PA), Garrett (MD), Allegany (MD)	PA, MD		01:00–01:50			See section on this tornado – Five people were injured.
F1	Auburn Township to Springville Township	Susquehanna	PA		01:05–01:15			Two manufactured homes were demolished, the roof was ripped off a small brick storage building, and trees were snapped or uprooted.
F2	SW of Gibbon Glade, PA to SW of Friendsville, MD	Fayette (PA), Preston (WV), Garrett (MD)	PA, WV, MD		01:35–02:00			A strong tri-state tornado completely destroyed two manufactured homes and a dairy barn. At least 21 other structures were heavily damaged with their roofs partially or completely ripped off. Several cows were killed, including one that was tossed over. A wide swath of trees were sheared or uprooted.
F0	NW of Bald Eagle	Centre	PA		01:35–01:40			A number of large walnut trees were toppled, and a telephone pole was snapped.
F1	Shamokin to Kulpmont to Locust Gap	Northumberland	PA		01:40–01:55			Over 100 homes sustained minor damage, part of a barn was destroyed, and numerous trees were leveled.
F3	Terry Township to North Abington Township	Bradford, Wyoming, Lackawanna	PA		01:45–02:50			2 deaths – See section on this tornado – There were 15 injuries.
F0	Berryville	Clarke	VA		01:50–01:52			Several trees were uprooted, and a barn had its roof ripped off.
F0	SE of Bluemont	Loudoun	VA		02:10–02:14			Trees were damaged.
F2	SW of Keyser to S of Junction	Mineral, Hampshire	WV		02:33–02:51			A garage and a barn were destroyed, while outbuildings sustained extensive damage. One manufactured home was destroyed and several others were damaged or rolled. Five people were injured in one home. Permanent houses and other buildings sustained generally minor damage. A station wagon was turned around, a car was blown over, and numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, some of which caused additional damage to structures.

Frostburg, Maryland

The most significant tornado of the outbreak was a violent F4 tornado that tracked across Pennsylvania and Maryland during the evening hours of June 2. The parent supercell responsible for the tornado persisted for over. The tornado first touched down at 9:00 p.m. EDT in extreme eastern Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where it only sheared or uprooted trees. The tornado crossed into Somerset County, where it rapidly grew to a maximum width of and intensified to F3 strength. Though the tornado moved across generally rural areas, it still encountered many farms which were completely demolished. A manufactured home was blown off its foundation. In conjunction with other tornadoes in the county that afternoon, about 30 to 40 properties sustained some form of damage. Over 100 heads of cattle were killed in one destroyed barn alone, and many other farms suffered the loss of dozens of livestock too. The tornado crossed into Garrett County, Maryland, now at F2 strength. It destroyed several buildings as it moved through the town of Finzel, including a small house and a cinder-block garage. As the tornado crossed into Allegany County, it acquired multiple-vortex characteristics and reached violent F4 intensity with winds up to, the highest on record in Maryland. It descended Big Savage Mountain and entered Frostburg. In this area, at least eight homes were destroyed, including a two-story house that was obliterated. Dozens of other houses were damaged. An equal number of cars were damaged, some of which were totaled. Structures in this area were particularly susceptible to the tornado, as Frostburg resides on the Allegheny Plateau at an elevation around and thus faced full exposure to tornadic winds. Additional damage was incurred to structures in Eckhart Mines and Clarysville before the tornado crossed Dans Mountain. It continued north of Cresaptown before lifting. In total, the tornado was on the ground for and 50 minutes. Approximately 29 houses were destroyed and another 125 were damaged along the tornado's path, and about half of the homes remaining nevertheless suffered moderate to major damage. Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted. Debris from the Frostburg area was carried upwards of downstream toward Sterling, Virginia. Initial monetary cost from the tornado ranged from $4.5–5 million. Five people were injured. It is one of three violent F4 tornadoes on record in Maryland, with the other two occurring in 1926 and 2002.

Lake Carey, Pennsylvania

A tornado first began over the southeastern portions of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, in Terry Township. It displaced a manufactured home off its foundation by about and inflicted significant damage to its front side. An adjacent farm vehicle, pickup truck, and storage shed stopped the structure from rolling down a nearby steep hill. A storage building was severely damaged near this location, with its roof completely ripped off and some of its metal beams removed from the siding. The tornadic funnel ascended to the tree top level for a time but descended once more as it flattened a large barn. Roofing material from the barn was thrown up to downstream. A newly built home with a large rear deck suffered only minor damage in this vicinity. The tornado continued into Wyoming County and affected structures along a small hill, causing minor damage to their siding and roofs. As it crossed Lake Carey and impacted surrounding structures, it reached F3 intensity. Every structure along a narrow strip of land across Lake Carey was either severely damaged or completely flattened. At one house, an elderly woman and her grandson were sucked out of their second story home, resulting in their deaths. The tornado continued up another hill east of the lake and continued to inflict significant damage to homes. One of the houses was reduced to its bare foundation and a portion of its back wall In total, 42 homes around this area were significantly damaged or demolished. Over a dozen small and anchored boats were tossed out of the water and onto the shoreline. The tornado continued into East Lemon Township, heavily damaged three houses. One of the houses had its roof ripped off and its garage destroyed, while a second had its back deck destroyed and all of its back windows blown out. One injury occurred in the township. The tornado moved into Lackawanna County, where it struck the campus of Keystone Junior College, blowing out windows and twisting gutters. After, the tornado finally lifted in North Abington Township.