Poland’s Tornado

Youngstown Vindicator
Tuesday, March 22, 1955

Tornadoes Lash Area
Mayor John Weed Powers appealed to all sightseers to remain away from Poland as he declared a state of emergency in the Village. “Main Street is in a dangerous condition and probably will be for some time,” Mayor Powers said. Poland and Struthers Hit
Many Homes Damaged
In Freak Storm


Trees Uprooted, Down Wires
Cut Comunications

The tornado dipped into historic Poland shortly after 9 am with terrific force striking first in the area of Yellow Creek Bridge across Main Street then moving south and skirting the cemetery before hitting a new residential development on Duncan Drive.
More than 20 homes in Poland were damaged with extensive property losses on Main Street and Duncan Drive. Dr. Struble estimates that the high winds which accompanied the tornado swept through the Yellow Creek valley for about 30 seconds. The twister knocked down 10 trees around Dr. Struble’s home and next door at the Hagberg home three trees fell.
The grounds at the home of Mrs. James B. Kennedy (now Town Hall) on Main Street were heavily damaged with beautiful old trees leveled. Mayor John Weed Powers appealed to all sightseers to remain away from Poland as he declared a State of Emergency in the Village. “Main Street is in a dangerous condition and probably will be for some time.”, Mayor Powers said.
Hard hit by the tornado was the Duncan Drive area, where homes, garages and automobiles were damaged. An unfinished house was lifted off it foundation and moved several feet. Two convertibles in the driveway of the David McComb residence were damaged; a third car was destroyed when the garage fell in on it. McComb, who was in the home, was hurt as was Mike Onderko, who was working in the basement of his incomplete home. He received leg and head cuts.
At least a dozen homes in the Hopewell and Iroquois Ave. area of Struthers were damaged. Mrs. Gerald Donnelly of 120 Hopewell Ave. said she saw the storm coming. “The sky turned real black and I thought the storm was going to come through the windows.” She said, “I started to head for the cellar.”
Other Struthers residents said the storm was accompanied by a strange sound. “It was like a buzzing sound,” they said.
The low pressure accompanying the cold front brought some of the lowest barometric pressures ever recorded at the Youngstown Municipal Airport.



Tornado damage to the Struble property on the east
side of Main Street in Poland. The road was impassable.