A low pressure system moving towards the Great Lakes helped to push a strong cold front across the Ohio Valley in the early morning hours of the 22nd. A shallow convective line of thunderstorms developed along the front, providing for some strong to severe wind gusts.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 episode as NWS PBZ wrote it up.
A low pressure system moving towards the Great Lakes helped to push a strong cold front across the Ohio Valley in the early morning hours of the 22nd. A shallow convective line of thunderstorms developed along the front, providing for some strong to severe wind gusts. Damage was reported in several locations across eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and Garrett county Maryland.
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 Dec 22, 1:40 AM EST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 140 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013 .SYNOPSIS... PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT WILL SPREAD MORE RAIN OVER THE REGION THIS MORNING AND BRING A RETURN OF MORE SEASONABLE WEATHER. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... UPDATE ISSUED FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH WHICH WILL CONSIST OF SHALLOW CONVECTION WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. RAPIDLY PROGRESSING LOW PRES WL MOVE OVR THE GREAT LAKES THIS MRNG AND DRAG THE RAIN FOCUSING FRONT ACRS THE UPR OHIO REGION. ONLY CHANGES NEEDED TO THE FORECAST WERE TWEAKS TO TIMING AND WINDS. THE FLOOD WATCH CONTS...AND SHALLOW CONVECTION WL CONT TO BE MONITORED FOR GUSTS. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... COLD FRONT WILL BE EAST OF OUR AREA BY TNGT AND PCPN CHCS WL RAPIDLY DIMINISH. THE NXT CONCERN WL BE DEEP MID TROF AND ASSOCIATED COLD POOL PROGGED FOR A MONDAY NGT ENCROACHMENT...AND TUES PASSAGE OVR THE REGION. SNOW SHWR CHCS WL THUS BE ON THE INCRS...WITH BTR CHC ON TUE WITH PASSAGE OF THE TROF AXIS...AND IN THE COLD FLOW IN ITS WAKE. PROGRESSION OF THE SHRTWV AND RAPID SBSDNC ONSET SHOULD DROP INVERSION AND LIMIT ACCUMULATION POTENTIAL...BUT ANY SNOW THAT DOES ACCUMULATE...ESPECIALLY FM PIT N AND EWD...WL STAY FOR CHRISTMAS GIVEN THE COLD TEMPS. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... BLDG HIGH PRES SHOULD END ANY SNOW SHWRS TUE EVE...WITH DRY WEATHER CONTG WED. A WK CLIPPER IS PROGGED FOR THU...THOUGH TIMING AND STRENGTH DIFFERENCES IN THE MDLS PRECLUDE MORE THAN A SLGT CHC MENTION FOR SNOW SHWRS ATTM. BLDG HIGH PRES IS EXPD AGAIN BY THE END OF THE WK. OVERALL...TEMPS SHOULD AVG BLO SEASONAL LVLS THRU THE PD. && .AVIATION /07Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... CONDS WL DETERIORATE TO MVFR AND OCNL IFR AS GUSTY SHWRS ASSOCIATED WITH A CDFNT MOVE ACRS THE RGN. A LLVL JET WL MAINTAIN THE LLVL WND SHEAR THREAT INTO SUN MRNG AS WELL. AFT FROPA EXP MVFR CIGS TO LINGER INTO SUN BEFORE SOME IMPROVEMENT TO LOW END VFR. GUSTY SW WNDS WL DVLP AFT FROPA BEFORE DCRG TWD EVE. .OUTLOOK.../MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... OCNL RSTRNS ARE PSBL THRU TUEN ESP N OF PIT AS AN UPR LVL TROF MOVES ACRS THE GT LKS. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...NONE. OH...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR OHZ039>041-048-057. PA...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR PAZ007>009-013. WV...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 140 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013 OHZ039>041-048-057-PAZ007>009-013-230645- TUSCARAWAS-CARROLL-COLUMBIANA-COSHOCTON-MUSKINGUM-MERCER-VENANGO- FOREST-LAWRENCE- 140 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON... ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 589 IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST THIS MORNING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA AND WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. FLOOD WATCH. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. 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. MDZ001-OHZ049-050-058-059-068-069-PAZ014>016-020>023-029-031-073>076- WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-230645- GARRETT-HARRISON-JEFFERSON OH-GUERNSEY-BELMONT-NOBLE-MONROE-BUTLER- CLARION-JEFFERSON PA-BEAVER-ALLEGHENY-ARMSTRONG-INDIANA-WASHINGTON- GREENE-WESTMORELAND-WESTMORELAND RIDGES-FAYETTE-FAYETTE RIDGES- HANCOCK-BROOKE-OHIO-MARSHALL-WETZEL-MARION-MONONGALIA-PRESTON-TUCKER- 140 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 589 IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST THIS MORNING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MARYLAND...EAST CENTRAL OHIO...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. 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.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
242 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0242 AM TSTM WND DMG WHEELING 40.08N 80.70W
12/22/2013 OHIO WV FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
SCATTERED TREES DOWN
&&
EVENT NUMBER PBZ1303641
15PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
255 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0240 AM TSTM WND DMG FRANKLIN 41.39N 79.84W
12/22/2013 VENANGO PA 911 CALL CENTER
A COUPLE OF TREES DOWN
&&
EVENT NUMBER PBZ1303642
07PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
259 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0259 AM TSTM WND DMG WASHINGTON 40.17N 80.25W
12/22/2013 WASHINGTON PA EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES DOWN ACROSS COUNTY
&&
EVENT NUMBER PBZ1303643
15PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
317 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0314 AM TSTM WND DMG WELLSBURG 40.28N 80.61W
12/22/2013 BROOKE WV PUBLIC
TREES DOWN EVERYWHERE IN BROOKE COUNTY
&&
EVENT NUMBER PBZ1303644
15PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
319 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0318 AM TSTM WND DMG PITTSBURGH 40.44N 79.98W
12/22/2013 ALLEGHENY PA EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES AND WIRES DOWN...CENTERED AROUND THE SOUTH HILLS
&&
EVENT NUMBER PBZ1303645
15PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
324 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0310 AM TSTM WND DMG BUTLER 40.86N 79.90W
12/22/2013 BUTLER PA 911 CALL CENTER
A FEW TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY
&&
EVENT NUMBER PBZ1303646
07The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 144 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:03 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Local 911 call center reported trees down on Underwood Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maryland in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, December 2013
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: 489128.