Storms Bring Record Rain Totals, Cause Widespread Damage
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Residents across the region are cleaning up after a line of storms caused widespread flooding and damage.
The City of Pittsburgh has seen just over 2.5 inches of rain since Thursday at 3 p.m. A record for rain was set on Thursday in Pittsburgh (1.78 inches) and in Wheeling (1.91 inches).
With the large rain totals, problems have developed with river and low-lying area flooding. The morning commute was impacted with, at times, it taking more than two hours for drivers to make their way into Pittsburgh from the Parkway North.
The heaviest rain occurred from 7 p.m. through 8 p.m., where about an inch of rain was recorded. This is also around the time that a strong storm caused damage in the Uniontown area. Lightning, something unique for February, also was reported around these times across the area.
While numerous reports of flooding came in overnight, the most serious damage occurred in Fayette County and specifically northern parts of Uniontown. Radar data from that time also shows a potential "hook echo," a sign of a possible tornado. Damage seems to be fairly extensive with roofs ripped off of homes and walls blown down.
The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down in Uniontown with 105 mph winds.
Power lines sagged and furniture was flipped over and blown outside. There was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued just before 7 p.m., but the storm also arrived in Uniontown almost at the same time.
The good news is rain should slowly come to an end Friday morning from the north to the south as colder air pushes in. Rivers will remain high, though, throughout the weekend and possibly beyond. Those heading to low-lying areas should monitor KDKA-TV Meteorologist Ron Smiley's social media feeds for latest on flooding.
Saturday's highs will be in the 30s with a chance for snow in the afternoon and evening hours. Temperatures will play a key role in how much snow we see but for now it is safe to assume around 1-2 inches of snow will be on the ground as you wake up on Sunday.
We are expecting another warm-up early next week with Sunday highs near 40 degrees and highs hitting the 70s on Tuesday.
However, rain chances will be back Monday through Wednesday.