Pennsylvania, 1996

Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, July 19, 1996

July 19, 1996 · NWS CLE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy thunderstorm rain caused major flooding of roads, basements, streams and low lying areas. Numerous roads were closed and snowplows had to be used to clear them of debris.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1.5 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 CLE wrote it up.

Heavy thunderstorm rain caused major flooding of roads, basements, streams and low lying areas. Numerous roads were closed and snowplows had to be used to clear them of debris. Bridges, culverts, sewers and roads were washed out by water, rock and mud slides. Route 8 near Titusville was severely damaged. A basement cave-in occurred in Saegertown. Firefighters rescued people threatened by French Creek when it overflowed its banks, damaging homes, camps and cars along Route 285 outside of Cochranton. Fifty homes were evacuated in Conneautville when Conneaut Creek overflowed its banks. In Meadville, 80 basements were flooded, streets were torn up and the entrance to the Meadville Medical Center was caved in by a 2 foot wall of water and mud. More than 100 homes and 16 businesses were damaged countywide

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Crawford

When
July 19, 2:15 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Crawford County, Countywide
Property damage
$1.5 million
Coordinates
41.685, -80.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, July 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: 5558157.