A slow moving cold front sagged southeast across the area sparking a broken line of thunderstorms that moved across eastern OH and northwestern PA in the evening hours. A narrow axis of 100-250 J/kg of MLCAPE and 30 knots of effective shear supported a localized damaging wind threat resulting in power poles and trees down.
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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.
A slow moving cold front sagged southeast across the area sparking a broken line of thunderstorms that moved across eastern OH and northwestern PA in the evening hours. A narrow axis of 100-250 J/kg of MLCAPE and 30 knots of effective shear supported a localized damaging wind threat resulting in power poles and trees down.
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 5, 7:07 PM EST, 28 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 807 PM EDT Tue May 5 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... Updated aviation forecast, otherwise no significant changes were made to the forecast. && .KEY MESSAGES... 1) Active weather pattern expected through the weekend 2) Frost possible Thursday night / Friday morning && .DISCUSSION... KEY MESSAGE 1... A cold front will slowly (flow is largely parallel to the boundary) drop south across the region with later this afternoon and over the course of the night. Shower and storm chances will progressively increase from the NW this afternoon, but should mainly be confined north of PIT through at least late afternoon. Joint probabilities of CAPE >500 J/kg and shear >30kts is 20-30%, and confined north and west of PGH. SPC has kept the area to just general thunderstorms this afternoon, but if there were any isolated stronger storms, winds would be the primary concern, and they would be north and west of PGH. This would be in the late afternoon / early evening timeframe. Showers and possibly some embedded thunderstorms will become more widespread this evening and overnight as the front continues to slowly drop south across the region. Much cooler temperatures are expected north of the front, with highs near 10 degrees below average. The front should finally exit the region Wednesday evening as flow becomes more northwesterly. A series of shortwaves rotating through broad upper troughing parked over the northeast CONUS will then keep periodic shower chances in the forecast through the weekend and early next week. KEY MESSAGE 2... There is some potential for frost Thursday night and Friday morning though this will be highly dependent on the amount of cloud cover in place and the resulting radiational cooling. && .AVIATION /00Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... VFR remains in place at 00Z, with SW wind gusts of 15-25 knots starting to diminish with decreasing heating. A few thunderstorms will track mainly NW of PIT this evening, with FKL most likely to see a temporary IFR impact due to heavy rain. Thunderstorm potential remains 20 percent or less near PIT, and near zero at LBE/MGW. Broad jet-aided ascent ahead of an incoming shortwave plus varied surface low movement ushers in a large plume of light to moderate rain after 00z, with the heavier plume crossing after 06z. The earlier trend of later arrival of IFR ceilings continues in the guidance. Current forecast is close to or maybe an hour later than previous TAFs to maintain continuity. Earliest appears to be FKL by 05Z or so, with similarly restrictive ceilings moving south and east overnight, with at least TEMPO IFR expected by sunrise at LBE/MGW. The crossing surface low will cause some variance in direction and speed of surface wind overnight as well. Dry advection and subsidence will shift the rain axis east through Wednesday morning while area restrictions gradually improve toward VFR through the evening (less than 20% probability of MVFR or lower by 00z Wednesday night, save for 40% probability of stratus lingering near KMGW). Outlook... VFR is favored to start the day Thursday before the next round of precipitation and restrictions return Thursday night into Friday, though primarily for terminals in northwest PA. More widespread rain and restriction development occurs Saturday with on and off periods of rain/restrictions continuing into early next week. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...None. OH...None. WV...None. && DISCUSSION...WM/Rackley/88 AVIATION...Frazier/CL
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 1234 PM EDT Tue May 5 2026 OHZ059-068-069-PAZ016-021-022-029-031-073>078-WVZ002>004-012-021- 509>514-061645- Belmont-Noble-Monroe-Jefferson PA-Allegheny-Armstrong-Washington- Greene-Westmoreland-Higher Elevations of Westmoreland-Fayette- Higher Elevations of Fayette-Indiana-Higher Elevations of Indiana- Brooke-Ohio-Marshall-Wetzel-Marion-Monongalia- Ridges of Eastern Monongalia and Northwestern Preston-Preston- Eastern Preston-Western Tucker-Eastern Tucker- 1234 PM EDT Tue May 5 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. OHZ039>041-048>050-057-058-PAZ007>009-013>015-020-WVZ001-061645- Tuscarawas-Carroll-Columbiana-Coshocton-Harrison-Jefferson OH- Muskingum-Guernsey-Mercer-Venango-Forest-Lawrence-Butler-Clarion- Beaver-Hancock- 1234 PM EDT Tue May 5 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Ohio, western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Isolated flooding will be possible this evening and overnight with showers and thunderstorms. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. 88
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:34 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Power pole and power lines down at a residence on Route 558.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, May 2026
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: 1336864.