Pennsylvania, 2001

Tornado and Hail in Pennsylvania, August 19, 2001

August 19, 2001 · NWS PBZ · 11 events in 8 counties and zones

6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
$142,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Aug 19, 6:35 AM EST, 6 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 19, 6:35 AM EST, 6 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
735 AM EDT SUN AUG 19 2001

UPDATED FORECAST TO GO WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
TODAY. FIRST BATCH OF SHOWERS HAS DIMINISHED...BUT SCATTERED SHOWERS
AND STORMS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP IN CLOUD BAND NOW MOVING THROUGH
CENTRAL AND EASTERN OHIO. REST UNCHANGED. ...GIORDANO

.PBZ...
MD...NONE.
OH...NONE.
PA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:52 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Allegheny

When
August 19, 12:54 PM EST
Where
Allegheny County, Monroeville
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.433, -79.817

Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees across area roadways. One tree fell onto a house, causing minor damage.

Hail, Clarion

When
August 19, 2:40 PM EST
Where
Clarion County, Leeper
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.367, -79.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Venango

When
August 19, 2:40 PM EST
Where
Venango County, 11 mi SE of Oil City
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.317, -79.567

Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree branches.

Tornado, Forest

When
August 19, 2:55 PM EST to 3:05 PM EST
Where
Forest County, 1 mi SW of Duhring
Rating
F1
Path length
3 mi
Path width
300 yd
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
41.500, -79.017

An F1 tornado touched down just southwest of the town of Duhring. The tornado continued moving along a sporadic path to the northeast, exiting Forest County approximately 2 miles northeast of Duhring.As the tornado passed near Duhring it reached its maximum path width of nearly 300 yards. Winds estimated at 90 MPH downed around 250 trees. Several of these trees fell on cabins, homes and vehicles.

Hail, Forest

When
August 19, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Forest County, Duhring
Measured
1.75 in hail
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.517, -79.000

Golfball-sized hail was observed in Duhring. In addition, hail the size of nickels covered the ground.

Thunderstorm Wind, Armstrong

When
August 19, 3:05 PM EST
Where
Armstrong County, 1 mi E of Bradys Bend
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.000, -79.617

Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree branches.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarion

When
August 19, 3:10 PM EST
Where
Clarion County, Rimersburg
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.050, -79.517

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.

Hail, Indiana

When
August 19, 3:20 PM EST
Where
Indiana County, Homer City
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.550, -79.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Beaver

When
August 19, 3:50 PM EST
Where
Beaver County, 6 mi E of Homewood
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.817, -80.200

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Butler

When
August 19, 4:10 PM EST
Where
Butler County, 1 mi NE of Portersville
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.950, -80.117

Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees in Moraine State Park.

Hail, Butler

When
August 19, 4:10 PM EST
Where
Butler County, 1 mi NE of Portersville
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.950, -80.117

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Pennsylvania, 2001Warnings in Pennsylvania, August 2001

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: 5265469, 5265470, 5265471, 5265473, 5265472, 5265474, 5265475, 5265476, 5265477, 5265478, 5265479.