Weak shortwave moving across the region in southwest flow brought showers and thunderstorms, some of which were severe to 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.
Weak shortwave moving across the region in southwest flow brought showers and thunderstorms, some of which were severe to 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 29, 1:41 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 241 PM EDT FRI MAY 29 2015 .SYNOPSIS... A WEAK DISTURBANCE WILL CROSS THE REGION THIS EVENING. A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT WILL AFFECT THE AREA OVER THE WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/... A WEAK SHORTWAVE ADVANCING ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY IN SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO BRING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION THIS EVENING. INSTABILITY IS LIMITED WITH WARM AIR ALOFT...INHIBITING THE CHANCES FOR STRONG STORMS. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD DECREASE LATER THIS EVENING AS THE WAVE EXITS AND INSTABILITY DIMINISHES. OVERNIGHT LOWS SHOULD BE AROUND 10 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE USING THE LATEST SREF NUMBERS. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY/... ANOTHER WEAK SHORTWAVE IS PROGGED TO ADVANCE ACROSS THE REGION SATURDAY WITH SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS EXPECTED. A COLD FRONT SHOULD SLOWLY DROP SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY BRINGING BETTER SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES. GENERALLY USED A BLEND OF THE GFS AND SREF FOR POSITIONING OF THE FRONT AND PRECIP TIMING. SHEAR AND INSTABILITY ARE PROGGED TO REMAIN RELATIVELY LIMITED WITH WARM AIR ALOFT...PRECLUDING A WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BE ALONG THE PA/WV BORDER LATER SUNDAY...WITH A SURFACE WAVE PROGGED TO TRACK ALONG IT SUNDAY EVENING. THE WAVE SHOULD GRADUALLY SHIFT EAST OF THE AREA MONDAY ALLOWING FOR DECREASING PRECIP CHANCES. TEMPERATURES SHOULD START OUT WELL ABOVE AVERAGE...WITH A DECREASE TO NEAR SEASONAL AVERAGE NUMBERS BY SUNDAY AND MONDAY USING THE LATEST GRIDDED MOS AND SREF DATA. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... HAVE SLOWED THE ENDING OF SHOWERS A BIT INTO TUESDAY FOR THE SOUTHEAST RIDGES AS MODELS ARE A BIT SLOWER WITH TRYING TO DEVELOP AND SHIFT EAST WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES ALONG COLD FRONT JUST SOUTH OF REGION. OTHERWISE LITTLE CHANGE FROM WPC PROGS AS DRY SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH MID WEEK. BY LATE WEEK HEIGHTS RISE ALOFT AND SURFACE RIDGE MOVES OFF THE EAST COAST...ALLOWING FOR WARMER TEMPERATURES AND INCREASING HUMIDITY. && .AVIATION /19Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... GENERAL VFR THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HAVE KEPT A PERIOD OF VCTS AS PROBABILITY OF STORM AT ANY PARTICULAR PORT IS SMALL. NEXT CHANCE FOR MORE WIDESPREAD RESTRICTIONS LOOKS TO BE BEYOND 18Z SATURDAY AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES. .OUTLOOK.../SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... RESTRICTIONS ARE LIKELY AT TIMES THROUGH SUNDAY. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...NONE. OH...NONE. PA...NONE. WV...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 406 AM EDT FRI MAY 29 2015 MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023- 029-031-073>076-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-300815- 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- 406 AM EDT FRI MAY 29 2015 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...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... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 337 PM EDT FRI MAY 29 2015 PAZ075-076-292015- FAYETTE RIDGES-FAYETTE- 337 PM EDT FRI MAY 29 2015 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT SOUTH CENTRAL FAYETTE COUNTY... AT 337 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS 7 MILES SOUTH OF UNIONTOWN...MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH. VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... UNIONTOWN...FARMINGTON...FAIRCHANCE...DUNBAR...SMITHFIELD...NEW SALEM...GRINDSTONE AND CHALKHILL. THIS INCLUDES PENNSYLVANIA ROUTE 43 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 3 AND 7. LAT...LON 3974 7957 3975 7985 4003 7980 3995 7946 TIME...MOT...LOC 1937Z 197DEG 14KT 3980 7972
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:00 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
One large tree was reported down on the corner of Mansfield and Holiday Drive on social media.
Allegheny 911 call center reported a roof blown off a warehouse and wires down around Rosslyn Farms.
Local 911 center reported several trees down.
Local 911 center reported three to four trees down.
Local 911 center reported several trees down.
Emergency manager reported approximately two feet of water was over the road at the intersection of Old William Penn Route 22 and School Road.
Trained spotter reported flooding along Evergreen Avenue in Millvale.
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, 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: 575560, 575561, 575562, 575563, 575564, 580353, 580372.