- Rating: F4*
- Path Length: 37 miles
- Path Width: 1760 yards (1 mile wide)
- Fatalities: 0
- Injuries: 5
- Time: 9:00pm to 9:50pm
- County: Fayette, Somerset (PA) / Garrett, Allegany (MD)
*The SPC lists the Fayette County portion of this tornado as a separate F0 tornado. The tornado is officially rated F3 for the PA segment and F4 for the MD segment, however damage to at least one home in Laurel Falls, PA appears to be F4.
Summary: This was the strongest tornado of the day, and the second tornado to strike Somerset County. This was the 3rd tornado to rip through Somerset County since May 31, like the early Boynton F2 tornado, this too would cross paths of the May 31 Salisbury Tornado, near Pocahontas.
The tornado first touched down in extreme eastern Fayette County in the Laurel Ridge State Park and produced F0 tree damage as it quickly crossed into Somerset County about four miles south of Seven Springs Resort, it widened to a mile wide as it moved through Somerset County, completely destroying several farms in the generally rural areas near Casselman and Kingwood, and Scullton. The tornado was at its peak intensity in Pennsylvania, when it tore through Laurel Falls, though officially F3 here, the author feels as though damage to at least one home here warrants an F4 rating. Hundreds of trees were blown down, snapped off, or debarked. A well-built 3-story home was leveled and swept away, and its walkout basement wall was destroyed. The family inside miraculously escaped without any injuries as they were sheltered under a table in the basement. Trees in the vicinity of the house were shredded and/or debarked. Other homes in the area were heavily damaged or destroyed, too, including a mobile home.
After ravaging Laurel Falls the tornado weakened and produced F1 to F2 damage as it tore across several farms as it approached Boynton. Residents of Boynton were clearing trees and debris off the road from the first tornado that struck two hours before when firefighters came by and told them to seek shelter as another tornado was coming. In Boynton, every window was broken in one house, and the roof was torn off a barn (F1 damage). One Boynton resident told of seeking shelter from the rain in a shed when the first tornado passed by, then going to a home with a basement when the second tornado came. She was unable to pull the basement door shut behind her. The shed she took cover in the first tornado, “disappeared” in the second tornado. In Somerset County, at least 30 properties sustained some type of damage from this large tornado, and hundreds of livestock were killed.
The tornado crossed into northeastern Garrett County Maryland near the town of Finzel around 9:40 PM. It was up to a half-mile wide as it ripped through here, destroying several buildings including a garage and a small house. It moved into Allegany County Maryland, where it strengthened into an F4 again, as it passed through the north and eastern sections of Frostburg. Eyewitnesses that saw the tornado coming over Big Savage Mountain said it appeared as “three funnels” (a multi-vortex tornado). In northern Frostburg, on Armstrong Ave, four homes were destroyed and several cars were thrown down a hillside. The tornado passed over another hill where several homes at the top of the hill were destroyed. One two-story house was swept away, with all the remained of the house was some plywood on the foundation. It passed through Eckhart Mines and Clarysville where several more homes and businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed. The tornado crossed Interstate 68, over Dans Mountain flattening more trees, the tornado ending just before hitting some homes along Route 53 north of Cresaptown.
In Allegany County, 29 homes were destroyed, and 29 others had major damage, 67 homes had minor to moderate damage. Three businesses were damaged and one was destroyed. The Frostburg Elementary School was heavily damaged, as was a church. Thousands of trees were downed as well. 5 people in Frostburg sustained minor injuries. Debris from Frostburg was found up to 100 miles away. A jacket, bought by a woman on June 2 in Frostburg was found with the bag and receipt near Levels, WV, 25 miles away. A 400-acre farm in Gorman, Maryland, just across the river from Paw Paw, (about 27 miles from Frostburg) was strewn with shingles, siding, and insulation. A JC Penny Catalog belonging to the family whose house was swept away was found in Winchester, VA, 60 miles away, along with pieces of a high school diploma. Another part of a high school diploma was found north of Berryville about 80 miles away. A bill that had been in a basement filing cabinet was found in Sterling, Va, 100 miles away. At the time of writing this, this was the first F4 tornado in Pennsylvania since May 31, 1985 and the last F4 tornado to occur in the State. This was the first F4 tornado ever recorded in the State of Maryland, and since 1998, only one other F4 had struck the State, in La Plata on April 28, 2002.
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