Strong wind gusts occurred just west of the ridges of Westmoreland and Fayette counties as a strong pressure gradient brought sustained southeast winds over 20 MPH, with stronger winds aloft mixed down to create wind gusts over 45 MPH. Scattered damage was to trees and power lines.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Strong wind gusts occurred just west of the ridges of Westmoreland and Fayette counties as a strong pressure gradient brought sustained southeast winds over 20 MPH, with stronger winds aloft mixed down to create wind gusts over 45 MPH. Scattered damage was to trees and power lines. Large fallen trees and wires blocked the CSX railroad in South Huntingdon Township in Fayette county, with multiple roads blocked across portions of Westmoreland county.
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 Apr 19, 8:29 PM EST, 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 929 PM EDT SUN APR 19 2015 .SYNOPSIS... UPPER OHIO VALLEY LOW PRESSURE WILL KEEP SHOWERS IN THE AREA TONIGHT. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ARE EXPECTED WITH A MONDAY AFTERNOON COLD FRONT. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/... SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TONIGHT AS DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE AND A SHORTWAVE ADVANCE ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY REGION. RAIN CHANCES SHOULD DECREASE LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING AS THIS SHORTWAVE EXITS. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT IS PROGGED FOR A MONDAY AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING PASSAGE. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY AFTERNOON. MODEL SOUNDING PROFILES INDICATE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS ARE POSSIBLE IF ENOUGH INSTABILITY DEVELOPS AHEAD OF THE FRONT...ESPECIALLY EAST OF THE OH/PA BORDER. A LOW LEVEL JET AND TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT SHOULD ALSO KEEP GUSTY WINDS THROUGH MONDAY. SOUTHEAST DOWNSLOPE WINDS COULD GUST TO AROUND 40 MPH THIS EVENING IN THE RIDGES SE OF PIT. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO STAY ABOVE SEASONAL LEVELS USING THE LATEST LAMP AND GRIDDED MOS GUIDANCE. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ARE EXPECTED TO DECREASE THROUGH MONDAY EVENING AS THE FRONT EXITS. THEREAFTER...BROAD UPPER TROUGHING IS PROGGED TO SET UP ACROSS THE NORTHEAST CONUS AND PERSIST FOR SOME TIME. PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL BE DEPENDENT ON TIMING OF INDIVIDUAL SHORTWAVES ROTATING THROUGH THE TROUGH... THOUGH THE BEST CHANCES FOR SHOWERS ON TUESDAY SHOULD BE NORTH OF PIT. A WEAK IMPULSE MAINLY AFFECTS THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES WITH A FEW SHRA TUESDAY NIGHT. THE NEXT...MORE ORGANIZED...FRONTAL BOUNDARY ARRIVES WEDNESDAY WITH BETTER RAIN CHANCES AREAWIDE. BEHIND THE FRONT...BOUNDARY LAYER MAY BE ABLE TO COOL SUFFICIENTLY TO ALLOW SNOWFLAKES TO MIX IN NORTH OF PIT LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT...BUT NO ACCUMULATION IS FORESEEN. COOLER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED WITH VALUES BELOW AVERAGE THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... BROAD UPPER TROUGHING IS PROGGED TO PERSIST ACROSS THE NORTHEASTERN CONUS THROUGH THE PERIOD...RESULTING IN BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND ONLY PERIODIC UNMENTIONABLE SLIGHT CHANCES FOR SHOWERS. && .AVIATION /02Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... CONDITION DEGRADATION CAN BE EXPECTED TONIGHT AS ADVANCING LOW PRESSURE CONTINUES TO SPREADS RAIN OVER THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY REGION. MVFR IS FORECAST TO DOMINATE THE OVERNIGHT...BUT ISOLATED IFR IS POSSIBLE. A BREAK IN PRECIP...AND RESTRICTIONS...IS ANTICIPATED ON MONDAY MORNING...BUT DEVELOPING CONVECTION WILL MAR THE AFTERNOON. AS FOR WIND...THE TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT WITH LOW PRESSURE DEEPENING OVER THE GREAT LAKES WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT WIND GUSTS AROUND 25 KT...AND LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR OVERNIGHT AS INVERSION RELAXES THE GUST POTENIAL SOMEWHAT. A GRADUAL DIRECTION VEER TO THE SOUTH...AND EVENTUAL SOUTHWEST CAN BE EXPECTED FOR THE PERIOD. .OUTLOOK.../SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... PERIODIC RESTRICTIONS ARE POSSIBLE AS COLD UPPER LOW PRESSURE SETTLES JUST NORTH OF THE GREAT LAKES. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...NONE. OH...NONE. PA...NONE. WV...NONE. && 15/07
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 331 PM EDT SUN APR 19 2015 OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013-WVZ001-201945- TUSCARAWAS-CARROLL-COLUMBIANA-COSHOCTON-HARRISON-JEFFERSON OH- MUSKINGUM-GUERNSEY-BELMONT-NOBLE-MONROE-MERCER-VENANGO-FOREST- LAWRENCE-HANCOCK- 331 PM EDT SUN APR 19 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS THE PRIMARY THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. MDZ001-PAZ014>016-020>023-029-031-073>076-WVZ002>004-012-021>023-041- 201945- GARRETT-BUTLER-CLARION-JEFFERSON PA-BEAVER-ALLEGHENY-ARMSTRONG- INDIANA-WASHINGTON-GREENE-WESTMORELAND-WESTMORELAND RIDGES-FAYETTE- FAYETTE RIDGES-BROOKE-OHIO-MARSHALL-WETZEL-MARION-MONONGALIA-PRESTON- TUCKER- 331 PM EDT SUN APR 19 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MARYLAND...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS ARE THE MAIN THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency management reported numerous trees and wires down across the county.
Emergency management reported large trees and power lines down across the CSX railroad in South Huntingdon Township.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, April 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: 562282, 562272.