Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Warnings in 2026
Tornado Warning 9, NWS Pittsburgh, PA
NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 2026, 4:44 PM EDT for Forest County, Venango County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 17 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 16, 2026, 4:44 PM EDT (20:44 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 16, 2026, 5:01 PM EDT
- In force
- 17 min
- Issued by
- NWS Pittsburgh, PA
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Radar indicated
- Hail
- 0.0 in
Counties Forest County, PA, Venango County, PA
The radar
The State College radar (KCCX), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:47 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.
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, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 139 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1447 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 57 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 61 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 115 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
290
WFUS51 KPBZ 162044
TORPBZ
PAC053-121-162115-
/O.NEW.KPBZ.TO.W.0009.260416T2044Z-260416T2115Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
444 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
Forest County in northwestern Pennsylvania...
Northeastern Venango County in northwestern Pennsylvania...
* Until 515 PM EDT.
* At 444 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located 6 miles northwest of Tionesta, or 11 miles northeast of
Oil City, moving east at 50 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...
Marienville, Tionesta, Pleasantville, Kellettville, West Hickory,
Starr and East Hickory.
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 4143 7959 4162 7960 4163 7925 4162 7902
4149 7907 4145 7928
TIME...MOT...LOC 2044Z 257DEG 45KT 4153 7955
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
$$
Frazier2 follow-up statements
542
WWUS51 KPBZ 162057
SVSPBZ
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
457 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026
PAC121-162107-
/O.CAN.KPBZ.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-260416T2115Z/
Venango PA-
457 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026
...TORNADO WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR NORTHEASTERN VENANGO COUNTY...
The storm which prompted the warning has moved out of the area.
Therefore, the warning has been cancelled.
&&
LAT...LON 4145 7948 4162 7946 4163 7931 4163 7919
4162 7902 4149 7907 4145 7928
TIME...MOT...LOC 2044Z 257DEG 45KT 4153 7954
$$
PAC053-162115-
/O.CON.KPBZ.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-260416T2115Z/
Forest PA-
457 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026
...TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 515 PM EDT FOR NORTHERN
FOREST COUNTY...
At 457 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located 8 miles northeast of Tionesta, or 13 miles northwest of
Marienville, moving east at 50 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...
Marienville, Tionesta, Kellettville, West Hickory, Starr and East
Hickory.
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 4145 7948 4162 7946 4163 7931 4163 7919
4162 7902 4149 7907 4145 7928
TIME...MOT...LOC 2044Z 257DEG 45KT 4153 7954
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
$$
Frazier634
WWUS51 KPBZ 162101
SVSPBZ
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
501 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026
PAC053-162111-
/O.CAN.KPBZ.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-260416T2115Z/
Forest PA-
501 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026
...TORNADO WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR NORTHERN FOREST COUNTY...
The tornado threat has diminished and the Tornado Warning has been
cancelled. However, large hail and damaging winds remain likely and a
Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in effect for the area.
&&
LAT...LON 4145 7948 4162 7946 4163 7931 4163 7919
4162 7902 4149 7907 4145 7928
TIME...MOT...LOC 2057Z 258DEG 45KT 4156 7933
$$
FrazierWhat 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 Apr 16, 2:24 PM EDT, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- 1) There is a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) of severe thunderstorms later this afternoon and evening, with damaging wind gusts the primary threat. 2) A cold front Saturday afternoon and evening will bring another round of strong to potentially severe thunderstorms. Damaging wind again appears to be the most likely threat. 3) Much above-normal temperatures continue until the Saturday cold front passage. Behind it, temperatures crash to much below-normal levels. Frost/freeze concerns return by early next week, and even a few Sunday night snowflakes are possible.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 2:24 PM EDT, 2 hours 20 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 224 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... Overall, there was minimal change to the forecast. There is still a Marginal Risk for severe storms this afternoon and evening. && .KEY MESSAGES... 1) There is a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) of severe thunderstorms later this afternoon and evening, with damaging wind gusts the primary threat. 2) A cold front Saturday afternoon and evening will bring another round of strong to potentially severe thunderstorms. Damaging wind again appears to be the most likely threat. 3) Much above-normal temperatures continue until the Saturday cold front passage. Behind it, temperatures crash to much below-normal levels. Frost/freeze concerns return by early next week, and even a few Sunday night snowflakes are possible. && .DISCUSSION... KEY MESSAGE 1... Another round of strong to severe storms will be possible later this afternoon and evening, and SPC has maintained the Marginal Risk for the area. Currently, warm air aloft is keeping a lid on convection across the region. CAMs have been consistent in showing convection holding off until the latter half of the afternoon when the warm cap (still evident in latest aircraft observations) begins to erode. A sfc trough will begin crossing eastern OH zones around 4PM, continuing east through early evening, coinciding with effective shear around 40-50kts and MLCAPE around 500 J/kg. This should result in isolated to scattered thunderstorms with coverage slowly increasing into the late afternoon/early evening as activity crosses our region. The environment looks less favorable than yesterday with less instability and weaker lapse rates. Damaging wind is the most likely impact from stronger storms, especially if they organize into clusters/short lines. A shortwave digging across the Tennessee Valley will help to dislodge what has been a stubborn southeast CONUS ridge Thursday night as the afternoon and evening showers and storms work their way out after sunset. Behind this wave, a brief period of mid-level ridging should allow for a break from the daily thunderstorm activity for most of Friday and Friday night. KEY MESSAGE 2... A stronger cold front is still slated to cross during the afternoon/evening hours of Saturday, bringing better dynamics and another chance of organized severe weather. The main question with this boundary remains timing, which would have implications on how much instability will be available. This will depend at least in part on the speed and orientation of the associated 500mb shortwave trough. Ensemble clusters suggest some fairly minor differences in strength and timing with this wave as well as the surface boundary. Machine- learning guidance from NCAR and CSU continue to highlight the area for potential severe weather, and SPC has portions of the forecast area under either a Marginal or Slight Risk at Day 3. Ensemble soundings during that period depict generally poor mid- level lapse rates and modest low- level hodograph curvature, suggesting damaging wind gusts would again be the most likely impact. KEY MESSAGE 3... Much above-normal temperatures continue into Saturday as ridging begins to build back over the region Friday and Saturday ahead of the mentioned front. There may be some modest potential to approach records on Saturday, especially if the front is later than currently projected, allowing for a longer period of warm southwest flow. NBM probabilities of 80 or warmer may be a bit overstated, but much of the area from Pittsburgh south should have at least a 50/50 shot of reaching that level. Meanwhile, behind the front, the script flips, and northeast CONUS troughing leads to daytime high temperatures some 10-15 degrees below normal for Sunday and Monday, before approaching climatology on Tuesday. Frost/freeze products may need to be issued by early next week, and some Sunday night snowflakes are a possibility. && .AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... VFR diurnal cu has sprouted this afternoon in a warm environment but are so far struggling to gain much growth with poor lapse rates and a cap evident on latest PIT ACARS soundings. Upstream obs closer to a surface trough in Ohio are indicating a bit better growth but still in a lackluster environment for strong convection. That said, a line of broken showers and storms are now developing along and ahead of the trough, and there remains a low probability that some could be strong to severe. Today's primary threat will be gusty wind and heavy rain with profiles not very supportive of hail. These storms can bring brief bouts of MVFR restrictions or a few dips to IFR, but with notable 15-20 degree dew point depressions, cloud bases even within convection will be high and restriction is likely to come more from visibility. Altogether, CAMs are in good agreement on a ~20z arrival to ZZV, ~22z to western PA, and exiting past LBE by ~00z, though CAMs still support some lingering showers behind the trough, so have kept a PROB30 group for this for a few hours after the storms exit. Timing has been broken down with prevailing groups showing the greatly increased confidence in timing of this convection, but lightning is lower confidence given thermodynamic profiles, so have opted for prevailing SHRA with TEMPOs for TSRA. Wind gusts out of the southwest will hold stout afternoon with mixing to 20-25 kts ahead of the frontal passage. Behind the front, winds shift to more westerly and gradually diminish after sunset. CIGs are expected to begin to fall overnight Thursday night with 50-70% probability for MVFR, highest north, quickly overspreading from north to south. Guidance has slowed down a bit and pulled north with the extent of restrictions, but a period of IFR for FKL/DUJ is still favored in the latter half of the overnight hours. Outlook... Friday should be mostly dry following Thursday evening's weak frontal passage. However, another low pressure system and a stronger cold front approach the area on Saturday, returning shower and thunderstorm chances (and associated restrictions) to the region through the weekend. Dry weather and VFR conditions are then favored as we head into early next week with a pattern shift following the weekend cold front. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...None. OH...None. WV...None. && DISCUSSION...CL/88 AVIATION...MLB
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 16, 12:10 PM EDT, 4 hours 34 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 1210 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026 OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>022-029- 031-073>078-WVZ001>004-012-021-509>514-171615- Tuscarawas-Carroll-Columbiana-Coshocton-Harrison-Jefferson OH- Muskingum-Guernsey-Belmont-Noble-Monroe-Mercer-Venango-Forest- Lawrence-Butler-Clarion-Jefferson PA-Beaver-Allegheny-Armstrong- Washington-Greene-Westmoreland-Higher Elevations of Westmoreland- Fayette-Higher Elevations of Fayette-Indiana- Higher Elevations of Indiana-Hancock-Brooke-Ohio-Marshall-Wetzel- Marion-Monongalia- Ridges of Eastern Monongalia and Northwestern Preston-Preston- Eastern Preston-Western Tucker-Eastern Tucker- 1210 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. There is a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Damaging wind gusts are the primary threat, with a lesser chance of large hail. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Saturday will bring another threat for severe thunderstorms as a strong cold front crosses the region. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. 88
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 16, 4:41 PM EDT, 3 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
441 PM EDT Thu Apr 16 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0419 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 S Utica 41.42N 79.96W
04/16/2026 Venango PA 911 Call Center
Several trees down. Road impassable.
&&
AAMThe office that day
Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 3:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Mercer | 41 min |
| Apr 16, 4:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Butler, Lawrence, Mercer | 43 min |
| Apr 16, 4:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Mercer, Venango | 42 min |
| Apr 16, 4:24 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PBZ | Venango | 25 min |
| Apr 16, 4:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Clarion, Forest, Venango | 46 min |
| Apr 16, 4:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Venango | 24 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.