The cyclone of ’24: A forgotten disaster

COLUMNS The cyclone of ’24: A forgotten disaster Jeffrey Snedden ForThe Times Third Street in Beaver, seen here the day following the June 1924 cyclone, was essentially ground zero for the storm. Most electrical and telephone wires in town were severed, leaving the county seat isolated for several days. Throughout Beaver County, the cyclone destroyed buildings, and left behind a path of destruction that few could comprehend. [Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation] There are certain dates in Beaver County history that will never be forgotten, and May 31, 1985, is pretty high on that list. That was, of course, the date of the “Tornado of ‘85.” On a night of historically destructive weather across the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, our

The cold front that spawned the tornado also created 43 others, and all-told, accounted for nearly $600 million in damage. Over 1,000 people were injured, and 89 killed, in what the National Weather Service calls “the deadliest tornado outbreak of the 1980s.” Luckily for many people in the path of those storms, technology had arrived at a point where predictions and warnings were a reality. That technology has been greatly improved since the 1980s, and today, meteorologists can predict storms with much better clarity. Countless lives have been saved by early-warning systems over the past 30 years.