Alert archive / Ohio / Tornado Watches in 2025
Tornado Watch 310
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 21, 2025, 2:43 PM EDT for 9 counties in Ohio; 8 counties in Pennsylvania; 9 counties in West Virginia. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 21, 2025, 2:43 PM EDT (18:43 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 2025, 6:32 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 55 kt
All 26 counties
Belmont County, OH, Carroll County, OH, Columbiana County, OH, Guernsey County, OH, Harrison County, OH, Jefferson County, OH, Monroe County, OH, Noble County, OH, Tuscarawas County, OH, Allegheny County, PA, Beaver County, PA, Butler County, PA, Fayette County, PA, Greene County, PA, Lawrence County, PA, Washington County, PA, Westmoreland County, PA, Brooke County, WV, Hancock County, WV, Marion County, WV, Marshall County, WV, Monongalia County, WV, Ohio County, WV, Preston County, WV, Tyler County, WV, Wetzel County, WV
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 19 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:42 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.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 70%
Warnings issued inside it
6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 3:42 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Columbiana | 3 hr |
| May 21, 4:30 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Butler, Lawrence | 3 hr |
| May 21, 4:33 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PBZ | Armstrong, Butler | 27 min |
| May 21, 5:00 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PBZ | Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland | 30 min |
| May 21, 5:28 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | PBZ | Allegheny | 2 hr |
| May 21, 6:16 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PBZ | Preston | 7 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 292 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 540 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 57 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 129 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 267 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
585 WWUS20 KWNS 211840 SEL0 SPC WW 211840 OHZ000-PAZ000-WVZ000-220000- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 310 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 240 PM EDT Wed May 21 2025 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern Ohio Western Pennsylvania Far Northern West Virginia * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 240 PM until 800 PM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...Low-topped supercell and related hail/wind and tornado potential should focus in a narrow zone regionally near a warm front this afternoon until around sunset. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles north northwest of Pittsburgh PA to 30 miles west southwest of Morgantown WV. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. && AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 55 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 23025. ...Guyer
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1:46 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Mahoning | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Ohio, 2025Tornado Watches in West Virginia, 2025Tornado Watches in Pennsylvania, 2025Every tornado watch in 2025
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.