Shortwave moving ahead of a cold front supported the development of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the evening on May 21st. Due to the late timing of convection, the best instability was over northern Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the strongest storms occurred.
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.
Shortwave moving ahead of a cold front supported the development of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the evening on May 21st. Due to the late timing of convection, the best instability was over northern Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the strongest storms occurred.
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 May 21, 8:40 PM EST, 0 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 940 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014 .SYNOPSIS... SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE UNTIL A COLD FRONT CROSSES THE REGION LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... A SHRTWV MOVG ACRS NRN OH/LK ERIE WL CROSS THE AREA TNGT. MESO DATA/EVE RAOBS SHOW THE BEST INSTBY IS OVR NRN OH. EXPG ONGOING TSTMS IN OH TO WKN SOME AS THEY MOVE INTO OUR RGN TNGT WHERE INSTBY IS DCRG. KEPT HIGHEST POPS FOR SCT SHWRS/TSTMS N OF PIT...WITH ISOLD ACTIVITY EXP ELSW. A CDFNT WL APCH TWD MRNG...KEEPING A CHANCE OF SHWRS AND PSBLY A TSTM UNTIL FROPA. HIGH PRES RIDGING IS EXPD LTR THU. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... HIGH PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO DROP FROM MINNESOTA THURSDAY NIGHT TOWARDS CHICAGO AND REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH SATURDAY. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL REMAIN ACROSS NEW ENGLAND...AND SEPARATE SHORTWAVES ARE EXPECTED TO ROTATE ACROSS THE WEST SIDE OF THE LOW DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY AND AGAIN ON SATURDAY. THIS WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF RAIN IN LOCATIONS EAST OF INTERSTATE 79 ON FRIDAY...AND A LESSER CHANCE ON SATURDAY. ALTHOUGH RAIN CHANCES WILL BE CONFINED TO EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...AT LEAST PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES IN ALL LOCATIONS WILL RESULT IN TEMPERATURE SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... RIDGING WL BLD IN SUN/MON WITH DRY WEA AND A WRMG TREND. A LOW CHANCE OF SHOWERS IS EXPD LATER TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WITH INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY. && .AVIATION /02Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... SWATH OF MID LVL CLDINESS...WITH SOME ISOLD SHWRS AND TSTMS...WL PERSIST OVR AREAS SURROUNDING MGW THIS EVE AS SHRTWV IN WNW FLOW ALOFT WORKS SEWD. OTHERWISE...SOME MVFR FOG...AND POSSIBLY SOME LATE STRATOCU ARE EXPECTED TO PLAGUE THE AREA TNGT AS WIND DIMINISHES AND A CDFNT SAGS TWD THE REGION. THAT FRONT WL COMPLETE PASSAGE ON THURSDAY AND ENSURE GENL VFR FOR THE WEEKEND. .OUTLOOK.../THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... THE NXT CHC FOR GENL RESTRICTIONS IS EXPECTED WITH A LATE MONDAY CDFNT. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...NONE. OH...NONE. PA...NONE. WV...NONE. && 07/15
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 912 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014 MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023- 029-031-073>076-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-230115- GARRETT-TUSCARAWAS-CARROLL-COLUMBIANA-COSHOCTON-HARRISON- JEFFERSON OH-MUSKINGUM-GUERNSEY-BELMONT-NOBLE-MONROE-MERCER-VENANGO- FOREST-LAWRENCE-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- 912 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MARYLAND...EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. 07
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 548 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014 OHZ039-048-057-058-068-212230- COSHOCTON OH-GUERNSEY OH-MUSKINGUM OH-NOBLE OH-TUSCARAWAS OH- 548 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT THE AREA... AT 545 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN PITTSBURGH SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM LOCATED 3 MILES NORTH OF OTSEGO...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND PENNY SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... PLAINFIELD... OTSEGO... FERNCLIFF... BODEN... KIMBOLTON... CAMBRIDGE... SALT FORK STATE PARK... SENECAVILLE... OLD WASHINGTON... BYESVILLE... PLEASE REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER BY POSTING TO THE NWS PITTSBURGH FACEBOOK PAGE OR BY USING TWITTER @NWSPITTSBURGH. LAT...LON 4011 8125 3985 8148 4013 8192 4028 8179 07
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 633 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014 OHZ058-068-212300- GUERNSEY OH-NOBLE OH- 633 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT NORTHERN NOBLE AND SOUTHWESTERN GUERNSEY COUNTIES... AT 631 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 2 MILES WEST OF BYESVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND PENNY SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. HEAVY RAIN WILL POND WATER ON ROADS AND QUICKLY FILL SMALL STREAMS. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... BYESVILLE... SENECAVILLE... SENECA LAKE PARK... PLEASE REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER BY POSTING TO THE NWS PITTSBURGH FACEBOOK PAGE OR BY USING TWITTER @NWSPITTSBURGH. LAT...LON 3990 8131 3980 8157 3995 8170 4005 8154 15
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
710 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014
OHZ058-068-069-220000-
GUERNSEY OH-MONROE OH-NOBLE OH-
710 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2014
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT NOBLE...SOUTH CENTRAL GUERNSEY
AND SOUTHWESTERN MONROE COUNTIES...
AT 705 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN PITTSBURGH
SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM LOCATED NEAR SARAHSVILLE...MOVING
SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND PENNY SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
WOLF RUN STATE PARK... SENECA LAKE PARK...
BELLE VALLEY... SARAHSVILLE... CALDWELL...
SUMMERFIELD... DUDLEY... HARRIETTSVILLE...
GRAYSVILLE...
PLEASE REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER BY POSTING TO THE NWS PITTSBURGH
FACEBOOK PAGE OR BY USING TWITTER @NWSPITTSBURGH.
LAT...LON 3994 8144 3965 8108 3957 8121 3957 8126
3960 8128 3959 8129 3959 8139 3963 8143
3963 8145 3983 8163
07The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:38 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency manager reported flooding along the upper Allegheny river near the town of President.
State official reported several trees down blocking East Main Street Extension.
State official reported trees down in Kittanning Township.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, May 2014
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: 524032, 523983, 523986, 523989.