A Times Leader headline on July 7, 1984.
File photo
A photo published in the Times Leader on July 9, 1984.
File photo
The weather forecast for July 6, 1984, published on page 10 of the Times Leader that day, called for showers with a possibility of thunderstorms with a high near 80.
By sunset, several communities had been hit by what would be classified as a brief F2 tornado and downbursts.
“A tornado touched down at Sweet Valley, Luzerne County, for a brief period; but damage, that was determined to be from downburst winds, extended northeast for six miles to Harveys Lake. Six houses and 10 farm buildings were destroyed, 30 houses received major damage and 25 houses sustained minor damage,” according to the official report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The tornado was first spotted at about 5:15 p.m. near North Lake in Ross Township and traveled to the Sunset section of Harveys Lake.
“It caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and minor injuries to about a dozen people,” the Times Leader reported on July 7, 1984.
The tornado, as it gained strength, picked up a vehicle driven by a then-37-year-old woman with her two sons, then 9 and 8, and dumped it into Harris Pond in Ross Township. The younger boy sustained injuries and was admitted to the now-closed Nesbitt Hospital in Kingston.
“Shortly after the twister swept Ross Township, it struck the Sunset Section of Harveys Lake, damaging 10 to 14 buildings, demolishing at least three cottages, and downing power lines. Wind damage was spread through an area a half-mile wide,” the Times Leader reported on July 7, 1984.
Telephone service was knocked out to approximately 2,500 homes in the area.
Other areas that sustained damage were Kunkle, Orange, Demunds, Midway Manor and the Carverton area near Trucksville.
The Times Leader quoted George Schilling, then 73, who was eating dinner inside Drury’s Deli on Memorial Highway. After the deli’s front doors were pushed open by high winds, Schilling said he ran outside and described seeing a yellow-colored funnel cloud.
Another person enjoying dinner at Villa Roma, Pattie Burdette described seeing oil drums being lifted and swirled 30 or more feet in the air.
Nearly all roads were closed due to toppled trees and debris, resulting in delayed responses from emergency crews and chainsaw operators.
“The storm, which first touchdown down in Ross Township, was labeled a tornado by the National Weather Service at Avoca. By the time it reached Harveys Lake, it had lost its tornado qualities, mainly its circular motion, and was classified as a series of downbursts,” the Times Leader reported on July 9, 1984.
There were no fatalities, but two ponies at the Mohawk Stable on Old Lake Road, Harveys Lake, were killed when the barn collapsed.
The official report by NOAA says the tornado had a path of less than one-half a mile that weakened into downbursts of winds when it hit Harveys Lake.