So, what was this mysterious wavy line? When you read the article it is a bit confusing on what exactly that wavy line looked like. Could it have been an outflow boundary? We would love to get the opinion of other sleuths out there on what you think.
These sleuths believe we likely had several brief but intense tornadoes spawned from a squall line. However, since we can’t plot the paths of these individual touchdowns, our map below will reflect the idea of a single skipping tornado from Carnegie through Glassport to near Buena Vista, along an 18-mile path.
From the history of Glassport website:
“The hands of the clock in the Glassport Police Station clung together on the number 10, stopped when the power failed moments before the disaster at 9:50 p.m., Saturday, August 3, 1963. In less than 2 minutes, winds estimated at up to 90 miles an hour, hit the town with all the fury of a tornado. Buildings were leveled to the ground, garages collapsed, porch furniture was hurled hundreds of feet into the air, metal awnings and roofs were whipped into grotesque forms, trees were uprooted and cars parked on the streets were flattened by the falling debris. Sheets of heavy rain washed out roads and power lines dangled from utility poles, creating a total black-out. There was no telephone service. A state of emergency was declared by Mayor Shaw.
Although it was never officially called a tornado, the violent storm had all its characteristics; funnel clouds, heavy rain, 90 mile an hour winds, buildings collapsed from the inside out and the storm skipped about hitting certain areas only.
Property damage ran into the millions. The full force of the storm hit the U.S. Glass House (never worked again), Copperweld, the High School Stadium, and the Steel City Lumber Company. Sheets of corrugated steel were ripped from Copperweld and tossed far up the hill. The roof of the Reliance Hose Co. was dumped in the entrance way of Copperweld Office Building which had been severely damaged by flying debris. Copperweld’s new office building (2 years old) built in the excess of $500,000.00 was “practically in shambles”. The heaviest losses were in the casting department, the rolling mill, ground rod department, laboratory and the engineering departments. Gratefully, the mill was closed for the annual summer vacation or the loss of lives may have been heavy.
Glassport Memorial Stadium damages were estimated at $100,000.00. Heavy steel floodlights were bent and twisted, one set of lights was flung over a car parked in front of the Roller Rink. The steel bleachers were crumpled like paper and huge holes were punched in the concrete wall. Broadway Roller Rink on Ohio Avenue had a group of approximately 25 teenagers inside when the wind virtually disintegrated the building. The roof was torn off and the walls collapsed, trapping the youngsters inside. By the grace of God, none of the youngsters were seriously injured but the building was never used again.
The Petrosky Hotel was seriously damaged. Mr. William Petrosky and Mr. Robert Martin’s dead bodies were found in the debris.”
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