User:Cjs0014/Lake Carey, PA Tornado- June 2, 1998

On June 2, 1998, an E-F3 tornado hit Lake Carey, Pennsylvania, at 10:05 PM. The residents of Lake Carey didn't have much warning of the storm because it formed so quickly. This tornado was the deadliest tornado of the June 2, 1998 tornado outbreak, causing 2 deaths and 15 injuries. At around 4:00 in the afternoon,a tornado watch was issued for portions of northeast and central Pennsylvania. The tornado didn't form until about 9:50 PM,where a supercell thunderstorm spawned a tornado around Terry township, in Bradford County. It started out as an E-F1 tornado, but then stengthened to an E-F2 as it began to enter Wyoming County, the county where Lake Carey is located. At 9:55 PM, a tornado warning was issued for Wyoming County, just as the tornado entered the county. The tornado traveled over flat land for about 5 minutes, allowing it to strengthen to an E-F3 tornado. The tornado reached Stevens Lake, just over a large hill from Lake Carey. Thats when the residents of Lake Carey realized that a strong tornado was going to hit them head-on, and that they needed to take shelter. At 10:03, the tornado began its descent from Stevens Lake, over a large hill, and it hit Lake Carey at around 10:05 PM. The tornado only took 45 seconds to level the community, but it left its mark on Lake Carey. The tornado then entered northern Lackawanna County, where it hit portions of Keystone College at about 10:30 PM. The tornado hit Keystone College as an E-F1, blowing out windows of dorms and cars and leveling trees. As the sun rose on the morning of June 3, people in and around Lake Carey were stunned by the devestating damage that the deadly tornado left on the community. "We get tornado watches and warnings all the time," said a Lake Carey resident. "I thought it would just be another little thunderstorm with a tornado warning, but then when the sound of a freight train could be heard, I realized that it really happened, a tornado just hit the town where I live." The damage at Lake Carey was devestating. Cars were thrown and flipped, homes were leveled, and many trees were either leveled or mangled in a weird shape. Unfortunetly, 2 people, a young man and his grandmother were thrown from their house, and killed upon impact. The Lake Carey tornado was the largest and most violent tornado in eastern Pennsylvania's history, and the deadliest of the June 2, 1998, tornado outbreak. Today, Lake Carey has rebiult, but there are still grim reminders of that frightening night in 1998, when a tornado leveled a loving and caring community.