Hail heralds storm front across Western Pa. region, flash flood warnings issued

The National Weather Service Pittsburgh received a number of hail reports as a line of strong storms moved through the region Tuesday afternoon.

The hail the storms produced lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, with hail measuring 1 to 2 inches in some places. Most reports were coming from northern Allegheny County into Armstrong County, meteorologist Jared Rackley said.

In Tarentum and Brackenridge, some hailstones were almost the size of golf balls.

Hail is considered severe when it is over 1 inch in diameter, Rackley said. Hail that size can damage cars and possibly roofs; hail of 1.5 to 1.75 inches can damage roofs and vegetation.

Hail storm right now in Tarentum, Allegheny County. ⁦@VNDNews⁩ ⁦@TribLIVE⁩ pic.twitter.com/j0qaEGi8Nb

— Reporter Joyce Hanz (@hanz_joyce) August 6, 2024

There were scattered reports of trees and limbs down, bringing down utility lines in some locations, Rackley said.

Several flash flood warnings had been issued for areas including northern Allegheny and parts of Butler, Armstrong and Indiana counties, with some areas getting more than 2 inches of rain.

Westmoreland County Public Safety said there were some weather-related calls, but nothing that caused any road closures as of 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service extended the flash flood warnings several times through late afternoon and evening. Some were to remain in effect until 10:30 p.m.

Duquesne Light reported about 1,300 customers without service as of 7:40 p.m. That included about 990 in Allegheny and 330 in Beaver counties.

West Penn Power reported 2,900 customers in Butler County, 2,500 in Washington County, 890 in Westmoreland and 150 in Allegheny.

Both companies had reported about 10,000 customers without service around 4 p.m.

Because of the storms, Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Safety was recommending that groups hosting National Night Out events today either cancel, reschedule or move them indoors. Sewickley cancelled its and Blawnox postponed its until next Tuesday.

Storms were expected to diminish through the evening. While more hail was possible, wind was expected to be the bigger threat, Rackley said.

Temperatures are expected to drop into the upper 70s for Wednesday but then rise back into the 80s for the rest of the week, Rackley said.