Pennsylvania, 2002

Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, August 12, 2002

August 12, 2002 · NWS PBZ · 8 events in 4 counties and zones

5 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$65,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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 12, 1:55 PM EST, 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 1:55 PM EST, 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
255 PM EDT MON AUG 12 2002

WILL KEEP IN HI TO LO CHC POPS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH AS SHORT WV
ROTATES ACROSS UPPER RIDGE THIS EVENING. PRCIPBLE WATERS 1.7 INCH SO
WILL INCLUDE SOME HEAVY DOWNPOURS. UPPER RIDGE BUILDS AGAIN ON TUES.
ETA WANTS TO GENERATE PRECIP LATE IN THE AFTN AND OVERNIGHT BUT CAN
SEE LITTLE TO FORCE THIS. WILL PUT IN CHC LATE AFTN AND EVENING FOR
RIDGES WITH ADDED LIFT. WILL KEEP DRY FOR WED UNTIL AFTN AS FRONT
APPROACHES THEN GO WITH LIKELY FOR WEDN NIGHT AND THURS. AVN A BIT
FASTER WITH THIS FRONT BUT WILL OPT TO KEEP IN LIKELY INTO THURS
EXCPT OUR EAST OHIO ZNS AS FRONT SLOWS AS IT APPROACHES RIDGE.
TEMPS SIMILAR TO AVN MOS.

PIT   68  91  69  85 /  50  20  20  30
HLG   68  91  69  84 /  50  20  20  30
MGW   66  91  68  86 /  40  20  20  30
ZZV   66  89  69  84 /  40  20  20  40
PHD   66  88  69  83 /  40  20  20  40
FKL   65  86  67  83 /  50  20  20  30
DUJ   65  85  67  83 /  50  20  20  30
LBE   67  90  68  85 /  50  40  30  30
BTP   65  88  67  84 /  50  20  20  30
IDI   67  89  68  84 /  50  40  30  30
ODM   65  86  66  85 /  40  30  20  30

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

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Butler

When
August 12, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Butler County, Mars
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.700, -80.017

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.

Flash Flood, Butler

When
August 12, 3:45 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Butler County, 3 mi S of Zelienople
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.912, -79.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm rains of up to 3 inches produced minor roadway and basement flooding across Jackson Township.

Thunderstorm Wind, Westmoreland

When
August 12, 3:45 PM EST
Where
Westmoreland County, Harrison City
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.350, -79.633

Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees in and around Penn Township.

Flash Flood, Beaver

When
August 12, 4:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where
Beaver County, Monaca
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.682, -80.349 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy thunderstorm rains produced several instances of basement flooding in the Monaca area.

Flash Flood, Beaver

When
August 12, 4:15 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where
Beaver County, North Sewickley
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.682, -80.349 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm rains of over 2 inches washed out portions of Rochester Road.

Thunderstorm Wind, Allegheny

When
August 12, 4:30 PM EST
Where
Allegheny County, East Pittsburgh
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.400, -79.833

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.

Flash Flood, Allegheny

When
August 12, 4:35 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where
Allegheny County, Harmerville
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.469, -79.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy thunderstorm rains produced roadway flooding along several secondary roadways in the Harmerville and Verona areas.

Flash Flood, Westmoreland

When
August 12, 5:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Westmoreland County, Murrysville
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.311, -79.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Torrential thunderstorm rains produced roadway and basement flooding in and around the Murrysville area. Especially hard hit was the Boxcartown Road area just south of town.

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.
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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, August 2002

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: 5312734, 5312735, 5312736, 5312738, 5312737, 5312739, 5312741, 5312740.