S. Sufficient instability allowed for a few strong storms to develop, causing tree damage.
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.
The Pittsburgh region continued to sit under an upper level ridge while tropical moisture lingered in the Northeast U.S. Sufficient instability allowed for a few strong storms to develop, causing tree damage. Localized flooding was the main concern due to a static atmosphere with light flow.
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 4, 6:13 PM EST, 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 713 PM EDT Wed Jul 4 2018 .SYNOPSIS... One more day of hot and humid weather is expected before a cold front brings widespread showers and thunderstorms Thursday night into Friday. Afterward, dry weather and seasonal temperatures are expected over the weekend and into next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... Residual outflow boundaries from earlier convection has led to some minor expansion in thunderstorm coverage this evening. These boundaries will be the only focus for further development and with very little steering flow/shear, expect updrafts will not maintain themselves all too long. Still, heavy rain due to their slow movement may result in some localized flooding problems, especially if more than one storm passes over an area. Upped PoPs through early tonight as a result of the radar, latest mesoanalysis and hrrr model data, which seems to represent the current situation well. Otherwise, have let the heat advisory to expire on time, despite some mesonet sites still suggesting just at 100 apparent temps. Previous... A shortwave moving over the upper ridge will help bring another chance of showers and thunderstorms on Thursday. Temperatures and heat indices will not be as high on Thursday as they are today thanks to more widespread cloud cover, but highs will still reach into the upper 80s. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... Models are in good agreement showing a cold front crossing the region Thursday night into Friday. Likely pops will continue south and east of Pittsburgh Friday morning, but the bulk of the rain should have moved to the south by Friday afternoon. High pressure will then build in to start the weekend. High temperatures in the upper 70s on Saturday will be a refreshing change. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... High pressure will maintain dry conditions with less humidity and seasonal temperatures through Monday before the next system begins to impact the region on Tuesday. The weather should then be dry on Wednesday. && .AVIATION /23Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Scattered showers and thunderstorms propagating along existing outflow boundaries will continue through the late evening. This will only temporarily interrupt otherwise VFR conditions expected to persist through early Thursday morning. There is some potential for patchy fog development in the pre-dawn, but difficult to predict exactly where this would impact, as it may weigh heavily on ongoing area precipitation trends. Otherwise, VFR conditions are expected to persist through the duration of the TAF period, marred only by afternoon thunderstorm chances Thursday. OUTLOOK... A frontal passage early Friday morning will ensure VFR conditions through the weekend, with breezy north winds at 15 to 20 knots likely Friday. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. OH...None. PA...None. WV...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 741 PM EDT Wed Jul 4 2018 MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023- 029-031-073>076-WVZ001>004-012-021-509>514-052345- 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- 741 PM EDT Wed Jul 4 2018 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...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. 34
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 24 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:05 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The 911 Call Center reported trees down near Route 28 at the Sharpsburg Exit. A old garage also collapsed into a roadway on Kittanning Street.
The 911 Call Center reported tree blocking 57th Street at Duncan Street.
A 911 Call Center reported that a tree was blocking the road at Wagner and Becks Run Road.
The 911 Call Center reported that a tree was blocking the ramp near Chapel Road at North Margery Drive.
The 911 Call Center reported a large tree fell on a vehicle along Hulton Rd in Unity. There was also a tree blocking a roadway at Repp Rd and Milltown Road.
A large tree was reported down in Highland Park on Wellesley on social media.
The 911 Call Center reported that 2300 Block of Freeport Road was flooded. Also the intersection of Route 356 and Leechburg Road.
A local emergency manager reported that Washington Blvd was closed in both directions due to flooding at Allegheny River Blvd and Negley Run. The north side of the river, in Aspinwall, there was flooding at Delafield Ave (report via social media).
The 911 Call Center reported that vehicles were stuck in flooded roadway at Allegheny River Blvd and Sandy Creek Road.
Local law enforcement reported a tree down and blocking Centreville Pike.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, July 2018
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: 772455, 772457, 772460, 772461, 772467, 772459, 772470, 772462, 772465, 772472.