Western Pa. Wakes Up To Flooding After Heavy Overnight Storms

A series of violent storms rumbled across Western Pennsylvania overnight, flooding roads and basements and knocking out power to thousands.

Thunderstorms flooded several areas along state routes 51, 30 and 119 and spurred a brief tornado scare in parts of Westmoreland and Allegheny counties — including a reported sighting of a funnel in Elizabeth Township.

Rihaan Gangat of the National Weather Service in Moon said there was no official verification of a tornado forming in the area as of late Sunday, although he did not dispute the legitimacy of a resident’s video, which showed a dark, wedge-shaped object.

“So far there haven’t been any reports of touchdowns out of that area,” Gangat said at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. “We did have a tornado warning out for the first storm because rotation was definitely seen but, because we lost daylight, it’s hard to tell if anything reached the ground.”

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/8567781-74/flooding-township-119#ixzz3dAMvXbmk
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Flash Flooding Leaves Widespread Damage In Pittsburgh

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

People in Western Pennsylvania braced Wednesday night for a second round of potentially devastating storms following torrents that dropped as much as 3 inches of rain in some parts of the area during the day.

But all of the foreboding and warnings ended up as mostly just that as a string of storms that arrived shortly after the evening rush hour brought with them less rain than was expected.

“It moved through so quickly,” said meteorologist Brad Rehak, of the National Weather Service.  “It wasn’t as heavy.”

Rainfall that was expected to end just after midnight should be replaced throughout the next three days with drier, more comfortable weather — aiding in crews’ cleanup efforts.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/pittsburgh-area-roads-flooded-closed-as-heavy-storms-move-through-694893/#ixzz2Yktumgsi