Storms producing heavy rainfall developed and crossed over an area that was already saturated from earlier rain on the evening of the 30th. The result was flooding over portions of Follansbee, West Virginia and in several locations around Washington and Allegheny counties in Pennsylvania.
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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.
Storms producing heavy rainfall developed and crossed over an area that was already saturated from earlier rain on the evening of the 30th. The result was flooding over portions of Follansbee, West Virginia and in several locations around Washington and Allegheny counties in Pennsylvania. Three to five inches of rain fell over a 30 hour period, leading to the flooding. Up to 5 feet of water submersed cars in the town of Follansbee and an apartment complex, where a few water rescues took place.
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 Jul 30, 8:45 AM EST, 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 945 AM EDT SAT JUL 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Periodic showers and storms will continue through the weekend until high pressure brings the return of dry conditions for much of next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... A nearly moist adiabatic profile exists over the CWA as of the 12z KPBZ raob with a freezing level up near 12.5 kft and thus warm rain processes dominating the semi-unstable cloud layer. Steering flow and shear over the area remains rather weak, thus storm movement will be rather slow SW-NE through the day. That said, the sounding PWAT of 1.76 inches is rather soggy, and the presence of a backbuilding 250 hPa jet to the north of the CWA may become problematic during the day. This places the CWA in the right entrance region of said jet with a weak H5 wave approaching from the west. As a result, SWerly propagation of cells is expected during the day with resultant multiple waves of convection likely to move NEward through the area as a result. This will yield the threat of heavy rainfall possibly moving over similar corridors at times during the day. Localized flooding will be possible in this setup, and it has been included in the HWO as a result. Deep moisture in place will keep clouds largely entrenched over the area through the day. While morning lows were elevated because of the clouds, they will not likely be a harbinger of a warm afternoon. Clouds may well keep temperatures largely below normal generally east of New Philadelphia, Ohio. Fries && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Shower and storm chances will continue on Sunday as the upper trough continues to transition east and the surface low associated with the aforementioned boundary crosses across the north. Drier air will finally begin to move in aloft on the backside of the trough which will bring an end to shower/storm chances by Sunday night. Maintained a dry forecast for Monday under continued dry northwesterly flow, but there is an outside chance of afternoon storms as latest model runs indicate a small jet streak developing Monday afternoon and just enough low-level moisture remaining. May need to include mention of showers/storms in future updates if models show continuity with this feature. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Surface high pressure will build into the area from the western Great Lakes Monday night into Tuesday. This will allow the area to remain in cooler northerly flow even as subsidence builds. A dry forecast will thus be maintained through mid-week. Ridging at all levels of the atmosphere should thereafter increase from mid-week onward as amplification of the pattern is evident on basically all guidance over the upper Mississippi Valley and northern Great Lakes during the second half of the week. This ridge and resultant low level thermal ridge should start to flop over toward our area by Friday, which at this point looks to be the warmest day of the next week or so, when temperatures should push again well above normal. && .AVIATION /14Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... General VFR is forecast through the evening with exceptions for isolated convection which will wane with the sun. Mention will be reserved for amendments given the declining coverage and questionable location of cell initiation. Given the frontal position and abundant low level moisture, expect the return of some fog on Saturday morning, although mid level cloudiness is expected to alleviate a widespread IFR threat. Will hedge from previous pessimistic forecast with an MVFR mention. .OUTLOOK /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Broad upper troughing should maintain periodic shower and thunderstorm restriction potential through Monday. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. OH...None. PA...None. WV...None. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 828 AM EDT SAT JUL 30 2016 MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023- 029-031-073>076-WVZ001>004-012-021-509>514-311230- GARRETT-TUSCARAWAS-CARROLL-COLUMBIANA-COSHOCTON-HARRISON-JEFFERSON- MUSKINGUM-GUERNSEY-BELMONT-NOBLE-MONROE-MERCER-VENANGO-FOREST- LAWRENCE-BUTLER-CLARION-BEAVER-ALLEGHENY-ARMSTRONG-INDIANA- WASHINGTON-GREENE-WESTMORELAND-WESTMORELAND RIDGES-FAYETTE- FAYETTE RIDGES-HANCOCK-BROOKE-OHIO-MARSHALL-WETZEL-MARION-MONONGALIA- RIDGES OF EASTERN MONONGALIA AND NORTHWESTERN PRESTON-PRESTON- EASTERN PRESTON-WESTERN TUCKER-EASTERN TUCKER- 828 AM EDT SAT JUL 30 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MARYLAND...EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS TODAY LIKELY WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AND LOCALIZED FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. KRAMAR
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
941 AM EDT SAT JUL 30 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0935 AM FLOOD WASHINGTON 40.17N 80.25W
07/30/2016 WASHINGTON PA EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS ROADS HAVE BEEN CLOSED DUE TO MINOR STREET
FLOODING. THEY ARE JEFFERSON AVE...OAK SPRING... WEST
MAIDEN... AND CATFISH AVE
&&
EVENT NUMBER PBZ1601732
JDThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
State official reported roadway flooding on Bunola River Rd in New Eagle and at the intersection of Hayden Blvd and Rainbow Run Rd near Sutersville. There is also a residence flooded on Bunola Rd.
Emergency manager reported several roads closed due to flooding throughout the county. These include: Bentleyville Road in Van Voorhis; Coleman Road near state route 980 in Southview; and Jefferson Ave, Oak Spring, West Maiden, and Catfish Ave, in the city of Washington.
Local 911 reported that several feet of water was entering a garage and that it was up to the back bumper of a pickup truck near Wolfdale. Also, in Canonsburg, water was entering a church flooding the basement and first floor. The water was up to the receptacles on the first floor.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, July 2016
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: 651216, 651219, 649434.