Showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a pre-frontal trough that was pivoting across the region. With modest instability and shear, several storms produced damaging winds, bringing trees down across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
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.
Showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a pre-frontal trough that was pivoting across the region. With modest instability and shear, several storms produced damaging winds, bringing trees down across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
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 11, 4:52 PM EST, 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 552 PM EDT MON MAY 11 2015 .SYNOPSIS... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE THIS EVENING...FOLLOWED BY DRY WEATHER THROUGH MID WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM TUESDAY MORNING/... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE REGION THIS EVENING AHEAD OF A PRE FRONTAL TROUGH. THE BEST INSTABILTY REMAINS ACROSS EASTERN OHIO...WESTERN PA AND NORTHERN WV PER RECENT MESO ANALYSIS...AND THIS CONTINUES TO BE THE AREA THAT HAS THE HIGHEST CHANCES OF SEEING ANY SEVERE WEATHER THIS EVENING...WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING DAMAGING WINDS WITH SOME DRY MID LEVEL AIR. IN COORDINATION WITH SPC AND SURROUNDING OFFICES...EXPANDED THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THESE AREAS. SHOWERS AND STORMS SHOULD CONTINUE TO ADVANCE ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT AS THE COLD FRONT CROSSES...THOUGH INSTABILITY IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY DECREASE AFTER SUNSET. LOWS SHOULD CONTINUE WELL ABOVE AVERAGE. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... FRONT PUSHES EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA EARLY TUESDAY...WITH A DRY SLOT QUICKLY SQUASHING PRECIPITATION BEHIND THE FRONT. THE DRY SLOT SHOULD WORK TO DEVELOP SOME CLEARING ACROSS SW PA...EASTERN OHIO AND NORTHERN WV DURING THE MID-MORNING HOURS...ALLOWING THE SUN TO COUNTERACT THE COLDER AIR MOVING IN. A FAIRLY PRONOUNCED SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST HIGH TEMPERATURE GRADIENT SHOULD EXIST BECAUSE OF THIS. BROAD UPPER WAVE APPROACHES TUESDAY AFTERNOON...WITH A STRONG MID- LEVEL JET PASSING AHEAD OF THE AXIS OF THE 850MB TROF. MIXING WITH COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL BRING STRONG WINDS TO THE SURFACE...LEADING TO A GUSTY DAY. EXPECTING GUSTS TO TOP OUT NEAR 30KTS IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF PA/MD/WV. BEST LIFT WITH THE BROAD UPPER-LEVEL WAVE WILL STAY PRIMARILY NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA TUESDAY...BUT EXPECTING SOME DIURNAL DEVELOPMENT OF CONVECTIVE SHOWERS AS THE COLD POOL MOVES OVER THE NORTH. WILL KEEP POPS ALONG THE NORTH...BUT HAVE DOWNSCALED THEM SOME WITH THE NORTHERN TREND OF THE ORGANIZED FORCING. COLD AIR MAXIMIZES OVER THE FORECAST AREA WEDNESDAY...KNOCKING HIGH TEMPERATURES BACK DOWN BELOW AVERAGE. WEDNESDAY NIGHT...HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO BUILD IN AND WITH SKIES CLEARING...TEMPERATURES WILL DROP SIGNIFICANTLY. THURSDAY MORNING LOWS SHOULD BE ABOUT 10 DEGREES BELOW THE AVERAGE. WILL NEED TO MONITOR THIS IN THE COMING DAYS FOR POTENTIAL FROST DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREAS WHERE THE GROWING SEASON HAS COMMENCED. TAX && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... QUIET AND COOL BEGINNING TO THE LONG TERM PERIOD. TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE BY THE END OF THE WEEK AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND. LOOKS TO BE A MORE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN SETTING UP FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. && .AVIATION /21Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION THIS EVENING WITH A PRE FRONTAL TROUGH WITH OCCASIONAL DETERIORATION TO MVFR OR BRIEF IFR. A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO CROSS OVERNIGHT WITH ADDITIONAL MVFR CONDITIONS IN SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. MVFR CEILINGS COULD CONTINUE INTO EARLY TUESDAY MORNING BEFORE SCATTERING OUT...THOUGH NORTHERN PORTS SHOULD CONTINUE WITH VFR STRATOCU AS AN UPPER TROUGH CROSSES THE GREAT LAKES. GUSTY WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY AS WELL. .OUTLOOK.../TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... RESTRICTIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITH LATE WEEK LOW PRESSURE. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...NONE. OH...NONE. PA...NONE. WV...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 555 PM EDT MON MAY 11 2015 OHZ040-041-049-050-059-069-PAZ007-008-013-014-020-021-029-031- WVZ001>004-012-021-022-122200- CARROLL-COLUMBIANA-HARRISON-JEFFERSON OH-BELMONT-MONROE-MERCER- VENANGO-LAWRENCE-BUTLER-BEAVER-ALLEGHENY-WASHINGTON-GREENE-HANCOCK- BROOKE-OHIO-MARSHALL-WETZEL-MARION-MONONGALIA- 555 PM EDT MON MAY 11 2015 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 167 IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EDT TUESDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...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...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. 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-PAZ009-015-016-022-023-073>076-WVZ023-041-122200- GARRETT-FOREST-CLARION-JEFFERSON PA-ARMSTRONG-INDIANA-WESTMORELAND- WESTMORELAND RIDGES-FAYETTE-FAYETTE RIDGES-PRESTON-TUCKER- 555 PM EDT MON MAY 11 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MARYLAND...NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. 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. OHZ039-048-057-058-068-122200- TUSCARAWAS-COSHOCTON-MUSKINGUM-GUERNSEY-NOBLE- 555 PM EDT MON MAY 11 2015 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 165 IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL OHIO. .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...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. 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. 07
The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:34 UTC.
12 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Department of Highways reported trees down near Coshocton.
Local broadcast media reported trees down on Linden Avenue, north of Zanesville.
Local Broadcast media reported trees down.
State official reported a large tree down.
Local 911 center reported numerous trees down in and around Malvern.
Local 911 center reported trees down on Bronze Road.
Local 911 center reported numerous trees down in and around Carrollton.
Local 911 center reported trees down on Waynesburg road.
Local 911 center reported numerous trees down between Hanoverton and Summitville.
Local 911 call center reported numerous trees down.
Local 911 call center reported numerous trees down from Columbiana to New Waterford.
Local broadcast media reported trees down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, May 2015
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: 575469, 575474, 575475, 575476, 575482, 575483, 575484, 575485, 575486, 575490, 575491, 575492.