A line of thunderstorms along a prefrontal trough moved across eastern Ohio late in the evening, resulting in several reports of damaging winds. Instability was marginal, especially given the timing, but 35 kts of shear packed in the lowest 3km was able to maintain the line across eastern Ohio and farther east into Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.
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.
A line of thunderstorms along a prefrontal trough moved across eastern Ohio late in the evening, resulting in several reports of damaging winds. Instability was marginal, especially given the timing, but 35 kts of shear packed in the lowest 3km was able to maintain the line across eastern Ohio and farther east into Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.
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 Mar 30, 9:34 PM EST, 41 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 1034 PM EDT Sun Mar 30 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Above normal temperatures continue with severe thunderstorms possible tonight into early Monday. A brief bit of drier and cooler weather is expected Tuesday. Heavy rainfall is expected across the Ohio River Valley late week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM MONDAY MORNING/... KEY MESSAGES: - Few showers this evening - Line of storms possible tonight into early Monday; damaging wind and isolated tornadoes are the main threat - Above average temperatures continue ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1030 PM Mesoscale Update... Updated to issue the Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of the area through 3AM. The line of storms continues eastward, with a potential for severe storms over the next several hours. Later tonight, MUCAPE is progged to diminish, with a weakening trend by 3am. 915 PM Mesoscale Update... The latest PIT sounding continues to show favorable shear for maintaining thunderstorms as they track across the area tonight. The current line of storms was along a prefrontal trough across OH, and will continue to track eastward this evening. Hodographs are also favorable for rotating storms, especially where any breaks in the line occur. Latest SPC day 1 outlook has pushed the enhanced risk slightly to the east tonight. 830 PM Mesoscale update... A line of thunderstorms continues to advance eastward across MI, OH, and southeastern IN. The latest mesoanalysis shows the portion of the line across west central and NW OH is parallel to the 0-3km shear vector, resulting in some loss in intensity. Greater shear is analyzed south of this area, and the shear vector is more perpendicular to the line orientation. Would expect to see the northern end of this line continue to advance across the area with lesser probabilities of severe weather. The southern portion on the line will likely be slow to lose intensity as it approaches later this evening and overnight. Will monitor the trends over the next few hours. Previous discussion... CAMs have been waffling around with how far east the line progresses before it weakens. In general, they often struggle with the lifetime of decaying convective complexes and want to dissipate them too quickly. That was the case for many sequences of runs up to this morning with dissipation in eastern Ohio, but the 12z guidance flipped to a bit more aggressive with the line maintaining itself into western Pennsylvania. HREF probs for >500 J/kg of CAPE cut off rapidly right on a Zanesville to Coshocton line after sunset tonight. However, the probs for at least 100 J/kg has shifted further east and is as high as 50% up to the PA border. This lends higher confidence in impacts at least in eastern Ohio, but still less confidence farther east. Kinematically, forecast soundings suggest that the bulk of the shear will be packed in the lower 3 km (~35 kt of 0-3 km shear and ~40 kt of 0-6 km shear), and thermodynamically, a good chunk of the available instability also in the lower levels with 3CAPE values between 60-100 J/kg. This may have a two fold effect in that 1) it can help overcome the marginal instability and maintain the line and 2) suggests another round of QLCS tornado potential, especially in any segments of the line that bow and orient more northwest to southeast in alignment with the 0-3 km shear vector. Damaging wind will be the primary hazard, but in comparison to our last event, the low-level wind field looks less potent, so those significant gusts to 80+ mph are less likely. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH 6 PM MONDAY/... KEY MESSAGES: - Cold front expected to cross the region slowly on Monday ------------------------------------------------------------------- By 6am Monday morning, showers and storm will likely still be advancing through the region. The cold front may be positioned over central Ohio, a noted delay due to the upper-level wind field running parallel along the front. If the front progressives faster, this could set up a favorable time window for much of our region to avoid the brunt of any severe weather early on Monday. Model consensus is very strong in showing most of the destabilization Monday well east of the ridges towards the I-81 corridor. This leaves a non-zero but low chance that impactful severe storms can fire along the front bright and early Monday morning as the front crosses the remainder of our region. Confidence is high that by 6pm the front will be at least passed counties northwest and west of Allegheny County (Mercer/Venango/Lawrence/Columbiana). Temperatures will remain well above normal Monday after within the warm sector. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... KEY MESSAGES: - A cool-down is most likely Monday night into Tuesday. - Above average temperatures Wednesday through Friday. - Potential for heavy rain Thursday into Saturday ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dry and cooler conditions settle in Tuesday behind the cold front. Both are rather short-lived as another system climbs through the Upper Midwest on Wednesday dragging a warm front back through the region. This ushers in the return of above normal temperatures and rainfall. There looks to be potential for a boundary to stall across the Ohio Valley beginning late-week and lasting into the weekend. The exact placement and any further wobbling of this stationary boundary will be very important to the expected impacts but it looks likely that somewhere in the OH Valley is in for rounds of rainfall and the possibility of high water impacts. It remains very early to say exactly where these impacts will be greatest but clustered analysis. Long-range ensembles yield several days next week where the chance to see >1 inch of rainfall in 24hrs is above 30% in our region. There is also a noted 50% chance of some rivers reaching 'Action' stage, including downtown Pittsburgh. && .AVIATION /03Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... A brief period of VFR favored until the next line of showers/storms arrives. FKL and DUJ are more likely to stay below at MVFR or IFR. There's uncertainty how far east a line of convection progressing across Ohio will be able to hang-on with the lack of daytime heating. Model consensus is that it hangs on at least into eastern Ohio affecting ZZV with highest confidence and likely as far east as PIT/AGC. Most likely timing for ZZV is around 03z, PIT at 05z, and LBE at 06z if it holds together that far east. Introduced prevailing low end MVFR conditions with TEMPO groups for IFR TSRA at all sites around the timeframe of the highest impact. Gusts are likely to be stronger and more sporadic with the line of convection. The cold front itself will pass through Monday morning with perhaps a few showers accompanying it. Cold advection in its wake will reinforce low cloud coverage and maintain a 60-80% chance of MVFR CIGs into the daytime hours along with local rain showers. Through tomorrow morning, gusty wind will continue with 60-80% probabilities of 30 mph. Outlook... VFR returns Tuesday under high pressure. Low pressure may bring another round of rain and restrictions Wednesday into Thursday with an unsettled pattern continuing to close out the week. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...None. OH...None. WV...None. && SYNOPSIS...Hefferan/MLB NEAR TERM...WM/Hefferan/MLB SHORT TERM...88/AK LONG TERM...88/AK AVIATION...MLB/Lupo
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 1018 PM EDT Sun Mar 30 2025 OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ020-021-029-031-WVZ001>004-012- 010230- Tuscarawas-Carroll-Columbiana-Coshocton-Harrison-Jefferson OH- Muskingum-Guernsey-Belmont-Noble-Monroe-Beaver-Allegheny-Washington- Greene-Hancock-Brooke-Ohio-Marshall-Wetzel- 1018 PM EDT Sun Mar 30 2025 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 79 IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 AM EDT MONDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Ohio, southwest Pennsylvania, western Pennsylvania, and northern 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. Severe thunderstorms are possible tonight. Damaging wind is expected to be the main hazard, though isolated tornadoes are also possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Severe thunderstorms remain possible Monday. The main threat will be damaging wind gusts. There is a Marginal (1/5) risk from Pittsburgh west and a Slight (2/5) risk to the east. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. PAZ007>009-013>016-022-073>078-WVZ021-509>514-010230- Mercer-Venango-Forest-Lawrence-Butler-Clarion-Jefferson PA-Armstrong- Westmoreland-Higher Elevations of Westmoreland-Fayette- Higher Elevations of Fayette-Indiana-Higher Elevations of Indiana- Marion-Monongalia- Ridges of Eastern Monongalia and Northwestern Preston-Preston- Eastern Preston-Western Tucker-Eastern Tucker- 1018 PM EDT Sun Mar 30 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. .DAY ONE...Tonight. There is a Slight Risk, or level 2 out of 5, for severe thunderstorms tonight. Damaging wind is expected to be the main hazard. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Severe thunderstorms remain possible Monday. The main threat will be damaging wind gusts. There is a Marginal (1/5) risk from Pittsburgh west and a Slight (2/5) risk to the east. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. WM
The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:16 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree and large limbs were downed in the area of State Route 83..
A large number of trees were down along side of I-70.
A large tree was blown down in a backyard.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, March 2025
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: 1247578, 1247582, 1247583.