Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2026

Tornado Warning 29, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

July 5, 2026Indiana County, Pennsylvania

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Jul 5, 2026, 5:44 PM EDT for Indiana County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 16 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 5, 2026, 5:44 PM EDT (21:44 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
16 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Tornado
Radar indicated
Hail
0.0 in

County Indiana County, PA

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:44 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 was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 5, 5:55 PM EDTTSTM WND DMG7 Ene Clymer, PAlate report. Numerous trees down.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 110 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 2026-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 425 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 2026-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 23 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
425 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-59 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
802 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

284 
WFUS51 KPBZ 052144
TORPBZ
PAC063-052200-
/O.NEW.KPBZ.TO.W.0029.260705T2144Z-260705T2200Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
544 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
  East Central Indiana County in west central Pennsylvania...

* Until 600 PM EDT.

* At 544 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
  was located 14 miles east of Indiana, moving east at 30 mph.

  HAZARD...Tornado.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

  IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
           shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
           to roofs, windows and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
           likely.

* Locations impacted include...
  Cherry Tree and Commodore.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built building
away from windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a
vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself
from flying debris.

&&

LAT...LON 4072 7896 4074 7881 4073 7881 4073 7880
      4072 7880 4072 7881 4062 7886 4061 7893
TIME...MOT...LOC 2144Z 260DEG 24KT 4067 7889

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

$$

CL
2 follow-up statements
976 
WWUS51 KPBZ 052149
SVSPBZ

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
549 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

PAC063-052200-
/O.CON.KPBZ.TO.W.0029.000000T0000Z-260705T2200Z/
Indiana PA-
549 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

...TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT FOR EAST CENTRAL
INDIANA COUNTY...

At 549 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located 20 miles south of Punxsutawney, or 16 miles east of
Indiana, moving east at 25 mph.

HAZARD...Tornado.

SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
         shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
         to roofs, windows and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
         likely.

Locations impacted include...
  Cherry Tree and Commodore.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built building
away from windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a
vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself
from flying debris.

&&

LAT...LON 4072 7894 4074 7881 4073 7881 4073 7880
      4072 7880 4072 7881 4062 7886 4061 7891
TIME...MOT...LOC 2144Z 260DEG 22KT 4067 7890

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

$$

CL
154 
WWUS51 KPBZ 052156
SVSPBZ

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
556 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

PAC063-052206-
/O.EXP.KPBZ.TO.W.0029.000000T0000Z-260705T2200Z/
Indiana PA-
556 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

...TORNADO WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM EDT FOR EAST CENTRAL INDIANA
COUNTY...

The storm which prompted the warning is moving out of the area.
Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire.

&&

LAT...LON 4072 7894 4074 7881 4073 7881 4073 7880
      4072 7880 4072 7881 4062 7886 4061 7891
TIME...MOT...LOC 2149Z 260DEG 22KT 4067 7886

$$

CL

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Jul 5, 1:39 PM EDT, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • 1) Thunderstorms, favoring afternoon/evening periods, remain likely through Monday while posing a decreasing damaging wind threat but steady localized flooding risk. 2) Ensembles trending toward a fairly active week featuring limited "dry" periods but with low hazard probabilities.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 1:39 PM EDT, 4 hours 5 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
139 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Updated key messages text

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
1) Thunderstorms, favoring afternoon/evening periods, remain
likely through Monday while posing a decreasing damaging wind
threat but steady localized flooding risk.

2) Ensembles trending toward a fairly active week featuring
limited "dry" periods but with low hazard probabilities.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1...
Potential for localized flash flooding through this evening as
the atmosphere becomes moist evident by a plume of PWATS
nearing two inches. Storm motion is around 20 knots, so training
will be the main culprit of any flooding that happens. Not so
excited about severe weather given the lack of dry air that we
had the past two days, which has dropped the dcape by a factor
or two.

For Monday:
Latest high resolution guidance continues to decrease the aerial
coverage of showers and storms. This decreases the confidence in
the need for a flash flood watch for Monday. We will wait and
see who gets hit today then go from there.

Potential differentiating factors...potential for extra cloud
cover to limit heating and reducing buoyancy development
(maintain the flood threat but further eroding wind/hail
threats)...and/or subtle mid-level ridging working around the
upper trough that offers enough subsidence to displace
convective activity to the north/east. Like today, hi-res
modeling favors areas southeast of Pittsburgh to maximize the
environmental parameters to reach those severe/flood risks but
confidence is low on this occuring.

KEY MESSAGE 2...
The sagging trough slowly shifts east the region through the
latter portion of the week, acting to limit airmass changes to
escape the daily potential for diurnally driven thunderstorms.
Favored areas are more likely to be dictated by the subtle areas
of jet-induced lift/sink around the trough as well as residual
storm outflows because surface frontogenesis and wind is
expected to remain fairly non- existent. There is variance in
how quickly the upper trough becomes positioned to the east,
meaning variance on when the "lull" period may occur. Quicker
solutions offer lower PoPs by Wednesday afternoon and
temperature climbing a few degrees above normal; slower
solutions result in a continuation of "chance" or so PoPs for
Wednesday as temperature sits near average.

Of higher confidence is that a more progressive upper trough is
favored to cross Thursday into Friday and continue the broken
record of shower/thunderstorm chances. Machine learning guidance
for Thursday has the highest probability for storms with
between 5 to 15 %. CIPS analog is a touch higher.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
The afternoon will feature some scattered showers and
thunderstorms at the terminals by the 18Z to 23Z timeframe
today. Some afternoon cumulus is developing at 2 KFT to 3 KFT
making some MVFR cigs at some TAF sites. Have used some TEMPO
groups for the onset on convection this afternoon mainly between
19Z and 22Z. This will result in some MVFR/IFR conditions at
the terminals. Expect a down tick in convection after 00Z
tonight. A few showers are expected to linger through the night.

For tonight, dense fog is expected again with sites dropping
down to field mins in some cases. After another day of warm and
muggy conditions with scattered showers and thunderstorms,
another night of impacts to vis and cigs are expected.

A few TAF sites will see some renewed convection tomorrow
afternoon. Some ensemble data suggests that some terminals could
see activity as soon as 16Z tomorrow.

Outlook...
Morning fog and stratus restrictions giving way to MVFR/VFR cu
and diurnally driven thunderstorms can be expected through
Wednesday as the upper trough driving the weather slowly shifts
east.

&&

.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PA...Flood Watch until 10 PM EDT this evening for PAZ007-013-014-
     020>022-029-073>078.
OH...Flood Watch until 10 PM EDT this evening for OHZ041.
WV...Flood Watch until 10 PM EDT this evening for WVZ001>003.

&&

DISCUSSION...Frazier/McMullen
AVIATION...Shallenberger
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 5, 11:05 AM EDT, 6 hours 39 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
1105 AM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

OHZ039-040-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ008-009-015-016-031-WVZ004-012-
021-509>514-061515-
Tuscarawas-Carroll-Coshocton-Harrison-Jefferson OH-Muskingum-
Guernsey-Belmont-Noble-Monroe-Venango-Forest-Clarion-Jefferson PA-
Greene-Marshall-Wetzel-Marion-Monongalia-
Ridges of Eastern Monongalia and Northwestern Preston-Preston-
Eastern Preston-Western Tucker-Eastern Tucker-
1105 AM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

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

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Diurnally driven thunderstorms may offer low probabilities for
damaging winds and large hail this afternoon and evening.
Potentially more impactful is the risk of localized flash flooding
for any storms that train or sit at a location for too long of a
period.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Additional thunderstorms, mainly posing a flash flood risk though
wind/hail threats can't be ruled out, are expected Monday afternoon
and evening.

Though storm chances remain in the forecast the rest of the week,
the probability of severe/flood risks appear low at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

OHZ041-PAZ007-013-014-020>022-029-073>078-WVZ001>003-061515-
Columbiana-Mercer-Lawrence-Butler-Beaver-Allegheny-Armstrong-
Washington-Westmoreland-Higher Elevations of Westmoreland-Fayette-
Higher Elevations of Fayette-Indiana-Higher Elevations of Indiana-
Hancock-Brooke-Ohio-
1105 AM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM EDT THIS
EVENING...

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

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Flood Watch.

Diurnally driven thunderstorms may offer low probabilities for
damaging winds and large hail this afternoon and evening.
Potentially more impactful is the risk of localized flash flooding
for any storms that train or sit at a location for too long of a
period.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Additional thunderstorms, mainly posing a flash flood risk though
wind/hail threats can't be ruled out, are expected Monday afternoon
and evening.

Though storm chances remain in the forecast the rest of the week,
the probability of severe/flood risks appear low at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

98

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 5, 5:06 PM EDT, 38 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
506 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0501 PM     Flash Flood      Arnold                  40.57N 79.77W
07/05/2026                   Westmoreland       PA   Amateur Radio

            Flooded Roadway at North Street and
            Constitution Blvd with vehicles stranded.
            Fire Department responding. Reported by HAM
            - ARES SW PA.

&&

Craven
Local storm report, Jul 5, 5:11 PM EDT, 33 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
511 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0449 PM     Flash Flood      1 W Lower Burrell       40.59N 79.73W
07/05/2026                   Westmoreland       PA   Public

            Report from mPING: River/Creek overflowing;
            Cropland/Yard/Basement Flooding.

&&

Craven
Local storm report, Jul 5, 5:12 PM EDT, 32 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
512 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0441 PM     Flash Flood      3 NE Middleton          40.81N 80.49W
07/05/2026                   Beaver             PA   Public

            Report from mPING: River/Creek overflowing;
            Cropland/Yard/Basement Flooding.

&&

Craven
Local storm report, Jul 5, 5:13 PM EDT, 31 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
513 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0355 PM     Flash Flood      Butler                  40.87N 79.89W
07/05/2026                   Butler             PA   Public

            Report from mPING: Street/road flooding;
            Street/road closed; Vehicles stranded.

&&

Craven
Local storm report, Jul 5, 5:16 PM EDT, 28 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
516 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0455 PM     Rain             4 NNE Freeport          40.73N 79.64W
07/05/2026  M1.77 Inch       Armstrong          PA   Mesonet

            Mesonet station GW4654 Freeport.

0500 PM     Rain             2 ESE Eau Claire        41.13N 79.76W
07/05/2026  M1.73 Inch       Butler             PA   Mesonet

            Mesonet station GW7389 EAU CLAIRE.

0445 PM     Rain             4 N West Sunbury        41.06N 79.90W
07/05/2026  M1.61 Inch       Butler             PA   Mesonet

            Mesonet station GW0234 West Sunbury.

0458 PM     Rain             2 NE Sarver             40.75N 79.71W
07/05/2026  M1.54 Inch       Butler             PA   Mesonet

            Mesonet station AX517 Sarver.

&&

Craven
Local storm report, Jul 5, 5:40 PM EDT, 4 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
540 PM EDT Sun Jul 5 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0536 PM     Flash Flood      3 E Hawthorn            41.02N 79.21W
07/05/2026                   Jefferson          PA   911 Call Center

            road closed due to high water.

&&

98

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 5, 2:44 AM EDTDense Fog AdvisoryPBZClarion, Forest, Jefferson, Venango6 hr
Jul 5, 11:03 AM EDTFlood WatchPBZAllegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Fayette and 8 more11 hr
Jul 5, 2:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatPBZLawrence36 min
Jul 5, 2:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZArmstrong, Butler, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango3 hr
Jul 5, 2:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBeaver, Butler, Lawrence38 min
Jul 5, 3:51 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZArmstrong, Clarion, Jefferson3 hr
Jul 5, 4:01 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZBeaver2 hr
Jul 5, 4:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZAllegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Westmoreland44 min
Jul 5, 4:17 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZArmstrong, Butler, Indiana, Jefferson3 hr
Jul 5, 4:22 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZAllegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland2 hr
Jul 5, 5:02 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZArmstrong, Indiana, Westmoreland2 hr
Jul 5, 5:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZIndiana20 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2026Every tornado warning in 2026Tornadoes in 2026

Sources

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