The combination of snow melt and rainfall caused ice jam flooding at the mouth of Oil Creek. The jam broke after about an hour and moved into the Allegheny River.
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The episode as NWS PBZ wrote it up.
The combination of snow melt and rainfall caused ice jam flooding at the mouth of Oil Creek. The jam broke after about an hour and moved into the Allegheny River.
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 Feb 18, 10:01 AM EST, 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 1001 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT MOVING EAST OF THE REGION WILL BRING BREEZY CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON WITH STEADY TEMPERATURES. BLUSTERY AND MUCH COLDER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED SATURDAY. LOW PRESSURE WILL ENTER THE REGION LATE SUNDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...BRINGING MIXED PRECIPITATION. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... FRONT SHOWS UP WEAKLY IN PRESSURE PATTERN ACROSS SOUTHERN OHIO INTO SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA WITH A FINE LINE ON RADAR ALONG FRONT. DEEP DRYING WILL MOVE IN WITH FRONT AND HAVE REMOVED POPS FOR TODAY AS CONVERGENCE ALONG FRONT ONLY PRODUCING SOME CLOUDS. COLD ADVECTION TODAY WILL BEGIN TO LOWER TEMPERATURES THIS AFTERNOON BUT WITH INCREASING SUNSHINE STEADY OR A SLOW DROP EXPECTED. STRONG SURFACE HIGH WILL IN COMBINATION WITH LARGE CYCLONE MOVING OVER EASTERN CANADA WILL ALLOW STRONGER 850MB COLD ADVECTION OVERNIGHT WITH SKIES CLEARING. CONTINUED GUSTY WINDS IN TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT THIS AFTERNOON. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... DRY...BUT BLUSTERY CONDITIONS ARE IN STORE SATURDAY UNDER W/NW FLOW. WITH WINDS ABOUT 5000 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL OF 50-60 KNOTS...WILL HAVE TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE ADVISORIES...ESPECIALLY ON THE RIDGES. WILL INCLUDE THIS POTENTIAL IN THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE SATURDAY NIGHT WITH CLOUDS INCREASING AHEAD OF THE NEXT SIGNIFICANT SYSTEM. HIGHS SATURDAY WILL RANGE FROM THE LOWER/MID 30S NORTH OF I-80...TO THE MID 40S SOUTH OF I-70. EXPECT LOWS SATURDAY NIGHT BETWEEN 15 AND 25 DEGREES. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... A COMPLEX SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE AREA FOR LATE SUNDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SURFACE AND MID/UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE TRACKS...AND SUBSEQUENT THERMAL STRUCTURES. GIVEN THESE DIFFERENCES...AND NOT VERY GOOD RUN TO RUN CONTINUITY...WILL MAKE SMALL CHANGES TO THE FCST. INITIAL PRECIP WILL LIKELY BEGIN ACROSS OHIO BY LATE SUNDAY...SPREADING TO ALL AREAS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...WITH A DECREASE IN COVERAGE TUESDAY. SOME ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ARE DEPICTING SOME ICE POTENTIAL ESPECIALLY NORTH OF PITTSBURGH SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY...BUT GIVEN THE CONTINUITY ISSUES WILL NOT INCLUDE AT THIS TIME. WILL STAY CLOSE TO HPC TEMPERATURES...RESULTING IN MAINLY SNOW NORTH OF PIT AT NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...WITH RAIN/SNOW DURING THE DAY. FURTHER SOUTH...EXPECT MAINLY RAIN WITH SOME MIX AT NIGHT. COLDER AIR IS PROGGED TO WORK IN FOR ALL AREAS MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY WITH PRECIP CHANGING TO SNOW...WITH ACCUMULATING SNOW POSSIBLE. EXPECT SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE FCST GIVEN THE HIGH DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY. MAINLY DRY AND SEASONABLE CONDITIONS ARE ON TAP FOR WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY...WITH ANOTHER SYSTEM APPROACHING LATE THURSDAY FOR A LOW CHANCE OF SHOWERS. && .AVIATION /15Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... OVERALL, MOST PORTS WILL SEE VFR CONDITIONS TODAY. LOOKING AT CURRENT OBS TO THE WEST AND CURRENT MODEL DATA, EXPECT TO SEE A PERIOD OF LOWER MVFR CIGS MOVING THROUGH WITH THE FRONT. HOWEVER, DO NOT EXPECT THE MVFR CIGS TO BECOME PREDOMINANT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FKL AND DUJ. WILL GO WITH LOWER CLOUDS TO THE NORTH FOR A TIME THIS MORNING, AS THE MAIN SW WILL MOVE ACROSS THE NORTH. FOR OTHER PORTS, WILL USE A TEMPO GROUP TO DEPICT THE LOWER CLOUDS. LITTLE IF ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY HAS DEVELOPED ALONG THE FRONT, AND CURRENT HIGH-RES FORECASTS SHOW THAT ANY ACTIVITY WILL BE WIDELY SCT. BECAUSE OF THIS, DO NOT FEEL CONFIDENT IN FORECASTING PREDOMINATE RESTRICTIONS FOR SHOWERS AT ANY PORTS THIS MORNING. WILL NEED TO MONITOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE LOWER CLOUDS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANY SHOWERS AND AMEND ACCORDINGLY. A STRONG LL JET WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. WILL CONTINUE TO FORECAST OF LLWS THROUGH MID MORNING. SFC WINDS WILL INCREASE ALONG AND BEHIND THE FRONT WITH GUSTS TO 20KTS POSSIBLE TODAY. CLOUDS WILL MOVE EASTWARD LATER THIS MORNING, SO WILL CONTINUE WITH THE VFR FORECAST INTO TONIGHT. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SCT CU COULD DEVELOP IN THE CAA THIS AFTERNOON, FOR CURRENT FORECAST WILL LEAVE THE MENTION OF CU OUT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FKL AND DUJ. A SURFACE RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY WITH MAINLY VFR WEATHER CONTINUING. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY WITH RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS AND THE LIKELIHOOD FOR RESTRICTIONS. LOTS OF QUESTIONS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST. MEDIUM RANGE FORECASTS ARE DEVELOPING A SECOND LOW MONDAY NIGHT AND MOVING IT THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY ON TUESDAY. THIS DEPICTION WOULD BRING A CONTINUATION OF RESTRICTIONS. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...NONE. OH...NONE. PA...NONE. WV...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 345 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011 MDZ001-PAZ074-076-WVZ023-041-191100- GARRETT-WESTMORELAND RIDGES-FAYETTE RIDGES-PRESTON-TUCKER- 345 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MARYLAND...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY EVENING...WITH WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-029-031-073-075-WVZ001>004-012-021-022- 191100- MERCER-VENANGO-FOREST-LAWRENCE-BUTLER-CLARION-JEFFERSON PA-BEAVER- ALLEGHENY-ARMSTRONG-INDIANA-WASHINGTON-GREENE-WESTMORELAND-FAYETTE- HANCOCK-BROOKE-OHIO-MARSHALL-WETZEL-MARION-MONONGALIA- 345 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY EVENING...WITH WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-191100- TUSCARAWAS-CARROLL-COLUMBIANA-COSHOCTON-HARRISON-JEFFERSON OH- MUSKINGUM-GUERNSEY-BELMONT-NOBLE-MONROE- 345 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL OHIO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:34 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
An ice jam at the mouth of Oil Creek caused a rapid rise in water levels with ice and water backed up to near SR 8 in Oil city. The jam broke and went into the Allegheny River after about an hour.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 2011
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: 284480.