Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2024

Flash Flood Warning 43, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

August 29, 2024Washington County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this flash flood warning at Aug 29, 2024, 5:11 PM EDT for Washington County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 77 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 29, 2024, 5:11 PM EDT (21:11 UTC)
Expired
Aug 29, 2024, 6:28 PM EDT
In force
77 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Washington County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:11 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 28 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2024-08-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 846 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 2024-08-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
846 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
944 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 29, 2:00 PM EDT, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 29, 2:00 PM EDT, 3 hours 11 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
200 PM EDT Thu Aug 29 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
Hot and humid conditions will persist through Saturday with
scattered afternoon convection favoring the eastern higher
terrain. Widespread precipitation is likely Saturday into early
Sunday morning ahead of a cold front. Dry and more seasonable
weather is expected thereafter.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
KEY MESSAGES:

- Widespread heat indices in the lower to mid 90s likely.
- Scattered afternoon and evening storms possible, mainly south
  and east of PIT, with a low probability for a wind threat.
----------------------------------------------------------------

500mb ridging to the west with weak, very discrete shortwave
movement in the lower levels will combine with the hot, humid
airmass to generate scattered afternoon to early evening
thunderstorms. Latest analysis shows surface
heating/destabilization favoring locals mainly south of
Pittsburgh with up to 3000 J/kg CAPE along with weak sfc
troughing along the eastern ridge line. This should favor these
two areas through the evening while the rest of the region may
only see isolated development.

Strong instability, 90th percentile PWAT values and slow storm
motion increases risk for localized flash flooding, though weak
lapse rates and forcing should limit convective maintenance to
sit on any one location for too long. Any severe threat will be
tied to precip loading in storms resulting in wet microbursts,
but the same limiters for flash flooding apply here as well.
Convective evolution is expected to move east of the region
through this evening, though strong enough convective outflows
could prolong storm duration in western PA.

Beyond dwindling convective activity, this evening will also see
loss of sunshine that will aid reduction of heat concerns. Much
of the region is likely to hold current heat index values
(around 90-95 degrees) through 6pm.

&&

.SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/...
KEY MESSAGES:

- Temperatures remain well above normal Friday with potential
  for isolated afternoon thunderstorms.
- Widespread convection likely Saturday with a low probability
  wind threat.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

The ridge axis will shift over the upper Ohio River Valley
Friday in response to an upper level trough dropping towards the
upper Mississippi River Valley. Most of the region is likely to
remain dry and continue to deal with above normal temperature,
with heat indices well into the 90s. However, ensembles suggest
that the combination of weak shortwave movement ahead of the
approaching trough and enough diurnal heating could foster
isolated afternoon thunderstorms for portions of eastern OH into
northwest PA.

There is high confidence in the upper trough approach by
Saturday, though the upper jet will lag behind the initial
trough wave. This means the cold front may remain farther to the
NW, but ensembles remain bullish in enough convergence along a
pre-frontal trough to support fairly widespread line of
convection that will track SE through the day. A low probability
for damaging wind exists with these storms, but that will likely
be tethered to maximizing heating/destabilization ahead of the
boundary to boost CAPE values. Latest ensemble analysis is
fairly bearish on this outcome (more likely that mid-level moist
advection introduces enough cloud cover to limit degree of
heating). High PWAT values will remain and keep a minima of
flash flood potential, but forward motion should preclude any
issues.

&&

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
KEY MESSAGES:

- Cold frontal passage favored for Sunday with low probability
  storms ahead of that boundary.
- High likelihood for another prolonged dry and seasonable
  weather pattern.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

There is fairly high confidence in jet streak passage associated
with the actual trough axis late Saturday into Sunday morning.
This will push the surface cold front through the region,
tapping into residual moisture to produce lower probability
showers and thunderstorms ahead of the boundary.

By Sunday night, dry weather will develop as high pressure
builds into the region. Long range patterns favor a continuation
of Rocky ridging and broad East Coast troughing, promoting a
prolonged period of dry weather with seasonable temperature
(initially cooler Monday/Tuesday before height rises result in
above normal temperature toward the end of the week). Variations
in this pattern are likely subtle and dependent on the timing
and strength in the shortwave movement in NW flow.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
A weak inverted surface trough/boundary could provide the focus
for a few afternoon thunderstorms across the area today, though
warm and dry air aloft should help limit development and
prevent a widespread coverage. Maintained VCTS at most sites to
reflect the most likely timing based on latest hi-res guidance.

Otherwise, mid level clouds are decreasing as expected and a
scattered to broken cumulus layer has started to develop with
cigs generally hovering in the 3-5kft range. Any convection
that does develop this afternoon and evening will taper off
after sunset as instability wanes. VFR generally prevails
overnight, though some potential for patchy fog returns after
06Z for FKL/DUJ as well as any areas that see rainfall from
storms this evening. Another daytime cu field is expected and
chances for showers and thunderstorms return towards the tail
end of the current TAF period on Friday.

.Outlook...
Restrictions are possible in scattered showers and thunderstorms
both Friday and Saturday as a cold front approaches and crosses
the area. VFR returns Sunday through Tuesday under building
high pressure.

&&

.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PA...None.
OH...None.
WV...None.

&&

SYNOPSIS...Frazier
NEAR TERM...Frazier
SHORT TERM...Frazier
LONG TERM...Frazier
AVIATION...Cermak
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 29, 3:40 AM EDT, 13 hours 31 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
340 AM EDT Thu Aug 29 2024

OHZ049-050-057>059-068-069-PAZ008-009-014>016-020>022-029-073-074-
077-078-WVZ001>004-012-300745-
Harrison-Jefferson OH-Muskingum-Guernsey-Belmont-Noble-Monroe-
Venango-Forest-Butler-Clarion-Jefferson PA-Beaver-Allegheny-
Armstrong-Washington-Westmoreland-Higher Elevations of Westmoreland-
Indiana-Higher Elevations of Indiana-Hancock-Brooke-Ohio-Marshall-
Wetzel-
340 AM EDT Thu Aug 29 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Ohio, western
Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday.

Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible Saturday afternoon and
evening. The main threats will be damaging wind gusts and large hail.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

OHZ039>041-048-PAZ007-013-300745-
Tuscarawas-Carroll-Columbiana-Coshocton-Mercer-Lawrence-
340 AM EDT Thu Aug 29 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Ohio, northwest
Pennsylvania and southwest Pennsylvania.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday.

Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible Friday and Saturday
afternoon and evening. The main threats will be damaging wind gusts
and large hail.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

PAZ031-075-076-WVZ021-509>514-300745-
Greene-Fayette-Higher Elevations of Fayette-Marion-Monongalia-
Ridges of Eastern Monongalia and Northwestern Preston-Preston-
Eastern Preston-Western Tucker-Eastern Tucker-
340 AM EDT Thu Aug 29 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southwest Pennsylvania and
northern West Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and
evening. The main threats will be damaging wind gusts and large hail.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday.

Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible Saturday afternoon and
evening. The main threats will be damaging wind gusts and large hail.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 29, 4:50 PM EDT, 21 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Aug 29, 4:51 PM EDT, 20 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Aug 29, 4:54 PM EDT, 17 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Aug 29, 4:54 PM EDT, 17 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Aug 29, 5:09 PM EDT, 2 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Aug 29, 5:11 PM EDT, 0 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 29, 2:36 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZGreene39 min
Aug 29, 2:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGreene37 min
Aug 29, 2:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGreene, Washington46 min
Aug 29, 3:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Washington, Westmoreland49 min
Aug 29, 3:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGreene44 min
Aug 29, 3:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Westmoreland33 min
Aug 29, 4:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Washington48 min
Aug 29, 4:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Westmoreland38 min
Aug 29, 4:41 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZWashington34 min
Aug 29, 4:54 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZWestmoreland36 min
Aug 29, 5:09 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZAllegheny36 min
Aug 29, 5:11 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZWashington34 min
Aug 29, 5:35 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZWestmoreland25 min
Aug 29, 5:50 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZAllegheny25 min
Aug 29, 6:24 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZWestmoreland36 min
Aug 29, 1:37 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZTucker23 min
Aug 29, 2:09 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZBrooke51 min
Aug 29, 2:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZWetzel47 min
Aug 29, 3:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZTucker44 min
Aug 29, 4:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZMarion, Monongalia, Wetzel39 min
Aug 29, 4:45 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZMarion30 min
Aug 29, 5:57 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZPreston33 min
Aug 29, 6:17 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZHancock28 min
Aug 29, 6:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZPreston41 min
Aug 29, 7:10 PM EDTAreal Flood AdvisoryPBZPreston3 hr
Aug 29, 7:36 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZPreston24 min
Aug 29, 2:33 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZMonroe27 min
Aug 29, 6:00 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementPBZJefferson30 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2024Every flash flood warning in 2024

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.