Pennsylvania, 1998

Tornado in Pennsylvania, June 2, 1998

June 2, 1998 · NWS PBZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An F2 tornado passed southeast through southern Fayette County PA, the northeast tip of Preston County WV, and into northwest Garrett County MD. The total length of the tornado as it passed across these three counties was 12 miles.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$3.0 million
Crop damage
$2.0 million
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PBZ wrote it up.

An F2 tornado passed southeast through southern Fayette County PA, the northeast tip of Preston County WV, and into northwest Garrett County MD. The total length of the tornado as it passed across these three counties was 12 miles. Damage included a completely destroyed dairy barn, two completely destroyed house trailers, and at least 21 other structures heavily damaged, many with roofs partially or completely peeled off. Several cows were killed, with one cow thrown through the air over 100 yards. A clearly visible 300-yard wide, 1-mile long swath of trees which were completely sheared/uprooted was present near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia state border. One Fayette County official estimated at least two million dollars damage in lost timber alone in that county. Despite the damage, interviews with law enforcement officials, paramedics and local residents revealed no injuries occurred.

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:36 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Fayette

When
June 2, 8:35 PM EST to 8:45 PM EST
Where
Fayette County, Elliottsville to 1 mi of Five Forks
Rating
F2
Path length
5 mi
Path width
300 yd
Property damage
$3.0 million
Crop damage
$2.0 million
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
39.750, -79.650

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Pennsylvania, 1998Warnings in Pennsylvania, June 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5669113.