Photos show trail of destruction after 6 tornadoes hit Pittsburgh area
Between six tornadoes and straight line winds, severe weather left a trail of damage across the Pittsburgh area on Saturday.
The National Weather Service has so far confirmed six tornadoes: three in Washington County, two in Fayette County and one in Westmoreland County. The tornadoes touched down near Ellsworth, Beallsville, Centerville, Brownsville, Star Junction and State Game Lands #296.
Based on damage reports, the National Weather Service said the area saw a "large swath" of straight line wind damage, with wind ranging from 60 mph to 80 mph.
The strong winds brought down trees, knocking out power to tens of thousands of people. At the peak, West Penn Power said 72,000 customers had lost power.
While it's not out of the ordinary for western Pennsylvania to see a tornado, getting half a dozen in one day isn't as normal. The last time the area saw six tornadoes in a day was June of 2024, and before that, it had been several years, said NWS meteorologist Alicia Miller.
Miller said June 6 is now one of the region's top 10 days for the most tornadoes in a single day dating back to 1950. Miller said the Pittsburgh area averages about 10 tornadoes a year. So far, we've seen seven.
Do Saturday's tornadoes qualify as an outbreak? Miller said there's no real definition of an outbreak in western Pennsylvania.
"Because we don't have a lot of tornadoes in one day that often, I would say that that was an outbreak for us," Miller said.
Right now is the peak time for severe weather. The NWS said it runs from May until early July.
You can see photos of the damage from Saturday's storms below.
