Flood, Clarion
- When
- January 19, 11:00 PM EST to January 21, 6:00 AM EST
- Where
- Clarion forecast zone
- Property damage
- $630,000
- Coordinates
- 41.192, -79.421 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Pennsylvania, January 19 to 21, 1996
The first of what eventually became numerous large ice jams were reported by ice observers on the Allegheny River and its tributaries by December 26th. This abnormally early ice development continued to build as frigid temperatures persisted.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $4.4 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PBZ wrote it up.
The first of what eventually became numerous large ice jams were reported by ice observers on the Allegheny River and its tributaries by December 26th. This abnormally early ice development continued to build as frigid temperatures persisted. Early on the morning of the 19th, the river level at Lock 9, Rimer, Pennsylvania, quickly rose 9 feet. The water was from an upstream ice jam that had broken. Ice and flood waters from its tributaries continued and led to moderate to major flooding along the Allegheny River to Pittsburgh. Property damages for Clarion County include flooding on the Clarion River. Damages for Allegheny are totaled under the flood description for the Monongahela River.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Armstrong
- When
- January 19, 11:00 PM EST to January 21, 6:00 AM EST
- Where
- Armstrong forecast zone
- Property damage
- $3.8 million
- Coordinates
- 40.812, -79.464 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Allegheny
- When
- January 19, 11:00 PM EST to January 21, 6:00 AM EST
- Where
- Allegheny forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.469, -79.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 19, 1996
- Flooding in Virginia, January 19 to 22, 1996
- Flooding in Pennsylvania, January 19 to 21, 1996
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 19, 1996
- Flood in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flooding in Vermont, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flooding in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, January 19, 1996
- Flooding in Maryland, January 19 to 22, 1996
- Flooding in West Virginia, January 19 to 21, 1996
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5544528, 5544529, 5544530.