Severe storms sweep through Pittsburgh area, bringing tornado warnings and winds up to 70 mph
Strong storms swept through the Pittsburgh area on Tuesday evening, prompting tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings. The storms left behind a trail of damage, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes.
A severe thunderstorm watch was issued for the entire Pittsburgh area, but it has since expired.
A tornado warning was issued for parts of Washington and Beaver counties as well as parts of Ohio and West Virginia. It has since expired. A tornado warning was also issued for parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, covering communities like Monroeville, Plum and Murrysville, but it has also since expired.
A widespread severe thunderstorm warning impacted several counties, including parts of Beaver, Washington, Lawrence, Butler, Indiana, Allegheny, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties, until 5:30 p.m. Calling it a "life threatening situation" with wind gusts up to 80 mph, the National Weather Service urged people to seek shelter.
The NWS Pittsburgh says the Pittsburgh airport just recorded a 71.3 mph gust, which is the third-strongest gust on record.
Weather forecast for Wednesday in Pittsburgh
Wednesday will be great with partly cloudy skies and highs in the 70s. The 80s are back Thursday with showers, and the chance of rain lingers for the end of the week with highs Friday in the low 70s.
Thursday will be another day with showers and thunderstorms possible in the afternoon and evening. Right now, there is a marginal risk (1 out of 5) for isolated severe storms for the north and west of Pittsburgh, like Lawrence and Beaver counties.
This weekend, the Pittsburgh area turns cooler again.
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