Pennsylvania, 1997

Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, May 25 to 26, 1997

May 25 to 26, 1997 · NWS PBZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
$200,000
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.

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Westmoreland

When
May 25, 9:40 AM EST to May 26, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Westmoreland County, Wilpen
Property damage
$200,000
Coordinates
40.311, -79.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread heavy thunderstorm rains covered southwest Pennsylvania. Hardest hit was Westmoreland County. Widespread 3-4 inch rainfall totals were common across the county. Numerous roads were flooded and several basements were flooded. Route 982 was closed north of Route 30. 60-70 people were evacuated in the Darlington area. Evacuations were also ordered in Wilpen. Major road flooding was reported between Darlington and Ligonier. Numerous small streams and creeks went out of their banks. A large amount of runoff led to the flooding of the Conemaugh River at Seward.

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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, May 1997

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: 5615095.