Stats
Path length: 9 miles
Width: 500 yards
Fatalities: 1
Injuries: 20
Rating: F2
County: Crawford
Tornado Path
SPC coordinates: Start: 41.65 / -80.42 End: 41.68 / -80.35
Corrected coordinates based on analysis of aerial and satellite imagery:
Start: 41.656616 / -80.507841 End: 41.704923 / -80.354365
Introduction
On May 31, 1985, an F2 tornado tore through Pymatuning State Park near Linesville, cutting a nine-mile path from Pymatuning Lake through the End of the Road Campground. The tornado resulted in one fatality and injured at least 20 others as it passed through the area.
It was one of five tornadoes to strike Crawford County during the outbreak. Among the others, two were rated F4 and two were rated F3; the deadliest was an F4 tornado that devastated the towns of Atlantic and Cochranton, claiming eight lives. Additionally, an F3 tornado near Centerville caused two more fatalities.
Summary
Approximately 25 people were standing on the east shore of Pymatuning Lake at 5:25 pm on May 31, 1985. According to the Book, “Tornado Watch 211,” they witnessed a “white tubular snout, whirling like a garden hose whipped by uncontrollable water pressure.” Per an article in The Linesville Herald on June 5, 1985, one of the fishermen who witnessed this spectacle stated, “It was the darndest thing. The lake was smooth as glass. Then we saw this swell three feet high coming toward us. It rolled onto the embankment. After that, the lake was smooth again.”
The waterspout came ashore at The End of the Road Campground, about two miles west of Linesville, in Pymatuning State Park. Per Tornado Watch 211, it carved a “short but bloody path” through there. It felled numerous trees, many of which crushed picnic facilities, cars, tents, and travel trailers.
73-year-old Ruth Allen, the hostess at the campground, watched trees snapping and trailers being spun into the air. She grabbed her radio to alert the assistant park superintendent, Gene Hart. However, Ruth’s message was quickly cut off when her camper was tossed on top of her.
Sadly, Ruth was killed instantly. Her husband, James, was pinned under the wreckage, and suffered a broken ankle. In a 2010 Facebook comment, in the May 31, 1985 Remembered Facebook Group, Michael Proctor, a camp employee noted: “The campground looked like a twisted nightmare. I helped a dozen or so people out of the maze of the debris. The camp hostess, and her sister wasn’t so lucky. They were both pinned under their camper, side by side, facing opposite directions. One was pinned from the waist to the head under the camper and one was pinned from the feet to the waist. The camp hostess passed away and her sister lived. In 87 this woman came back to confront her past. She was so upset, I never told her I was one of the people who saved her life.” Michael’s post is the only mention of Ruth’s sister that we could locate.
A second fatality may have occurred at the End of the Road Campground, as mentioned in both “Killer Tornados May 31, 1985” and “Tornado Watch 211.” However, no other sources mentioned this, and we could not confirm this second fatality.
Judy Herman commented in the “May 31, 1985, Remembered” Facebook Group. She reported that her husband, Tom, his father, Herb, and a few friends were fishing when the twister hit. All of them were injured, with Herb being the most critically hurt. A tree fell on him, ripping his arm away from his shoulder. After several operations and amputation of his arm at his shoulder, Herb lived for 14 more years with debilitating pain from that day. Herb passed away on May 31, 1999, exactly 14 years after the tornado. A “Do Not Litter” beach sign was reportedly found 50 miles away. Hundreds of wildlife were killed at the park, and many of the dead geese that the Pennsylvania Game Commission collected had their eyes sucked out of them.
After leaving Pymatuning State Park, a cluster of homes adjacent to the park were hit by falling trees. The tornado crossed Route 6, slashing across Gary Graham’s horse-farm complex. A barn housing 11 Appaloosa horses was flattened. Nearly all of the horses were injured to some degree, and one had to be put down. Gary’s house was unroofed, and his garage was leveled. A 26-foot horse trailer was thrown 100 feet. Two riding lawn mowers reportedly disappeared.
To the east of Route 6, on Airport Road, sat the newly built house of Hank and Shirley White, and the trailer of their daughter Lisa Pittner. The Whites were having a cookout when they saw the tornado approaching; they took cover in the basement of the White House. However, Lisa’s husband, Rich, didn’t make it and had to dive into a shallow cellar underneath the trailer. The house and trailer were both demolished. The deck was carried intact 300 yards from the Whites’ house, and other parts of the dwellings were found over a mile east of there.
Crossing Wallace Avenue Extension, the funnel tore apart six homes and a trailer. Huge hemlock trees and pines that grew along the banks of Madison Run were all snapped off or uprooted. On Conneautville Road, it unroofed a house, with debris from that house being found 3 miles away. From here, the funnel gradually narrowed and weakened, dissipating about 5 miles northeast of Linesville.
Despite hitting mostly rural areas, the tornado devastated 75-80 campsites at End of the Road Campground. It also damaged or destroyed 27 mobile homes, 15 frame dwellings, and dozens of garages and barns. Members of the Linesville Volunteer Fire Department and residents of the area worked quickly to help clear roads of debris after the twister. The fire hall was filled to the brim with clothing and food to help those who needed it.
In Loving Memory
Ruth E. Walker Allen, 73
Discrepancies:
We gathered information for this event from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Databases, The NWS State College Summary, The NWS Cleveland Database, Tornado Watch 211, Killer Tornados May 31, 1985, Thomas Grazulis’ Significant Tornadoes: 1974-2022 publication, and found the following differences:
Path Length:
- The SPC, NCDC, NWS Cleveland Tornado Database, the NWS State College Summary, and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes 1974-2022 list a 4-mile path length.
- We found a 9-mile path length when plotting out all known damage reports and damage seen via Google Earth Historical Imagery.
Path Width:
- The SPC, NCDC, NWS Cleveland Database, the NWS State College Summary, and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes 1974-2022 list a 200-yard path width.
- Based on Google Earth Historical Imagery as well as plotting the damage reports, we found a 500 yard path width.
Injuries:
- The SPC, NCDC, NWS Cleveland Database, the NWS State College Summary and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes 1974-2022 do not list any injuries.
- The book Tornado Watch 211 notes “a score” were injured at the End of the Road Campground. A “score” is 20. Multiple other sources note that there were several injuries, with at least six injuries being “serious,” however they don’t list any exact total. The total of 20 from Tornado Watch 211, is listed here, and may even be slightly conservative.
Sources
The sources compiled in our research for this summary can be found here.
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