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F1 tornado in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

Tornado August 16, 1997 · Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

F1
Rating
0.5 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
1
Death
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

41/20/13N, 76/19/37W to 41/20/06N, 76/18/43W. The Ricketts Glen tornado was another example of tornadic winds embedded within a wider area of downburst damage. Downburst damage covered an area of about 3 miles wide from Ganoga Lake southeast to Lake Jean. An eyewitness at Ganoga Lake described a cloud of water being lifted off the surface of the lake. Another told of seeing a catamaran being lifted about 30 feet off the lake surface and thrown towards shore. The tornado appeared to cross Lake Jean and end in a campground. A 15-year old youth was fatally injured there when a tree was blown onto his tent. Other campers in tents narrowly missed injury.

Began near Nordmont (41.3800, -76.4800).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5613710. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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