Record-setting number of tornadoes strikes Pittsburgh region in 2021
A record number of tornadoes blew through the Pittsburgh region in 2021.
Jason Frazier, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Moon office, said there were 28 twisters in the coverage area, which includes parts of Ohio and West Virginia. The previous record was set in 1990 with 17.
But there’s no reason to suspect the high level of tornadic activity will continue, he said. This year had several weather systems that were ripe for twisters, spawning 11 on Oct. 21, according to weather service data. Two other days also had multiple tornadoes — eight on July 29 and five on Oct. 16.
“We just ended up having a weather pattern and a couple events,” Frazier said. “There’s nothing to say, long term, we would keep seeing that number going forward.”
An average year sees about four to six tornadoes, but it fluctuates and some years there might not be any, he said.
The 2021 tornadoes happened within about six months, starting on May 3 in Lawrence County and wrapping up on Oct. 21. They caused damage all around the region, from Ohio to Fayette and Washington counties. Most of the twisters were EF0 or EF1, with wind speeds up to about 112 mph and three were rated EF2 which has a maximum wind speed of 157 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
“It was definitely a significant uptick,” Frazier said.
A tornado touched down for about 5 miles along the Westmoreland-Fayette border on July 29, damaging trees and buildings. The October storms ripped roofs from homes and uprooted trees in Hampton and Mount Nebo in Allegheny County, as well as locations in Washington, Beaver and Butler counties.
Between 1999 and 2016, there were no more than nine tornadoes in the region in any single year, with zero in both 1999 and 2009. There were 16 in 2017, which is now the third highest total. There were 12 tornadoes in 2018, 13 in 2019 and 10 in 2020.
Frazier warned that the threat of a tornado doesn’t go away as winter settles in. The right kind of weather conditions can happen any time of year.
Westmoreland County leads the region with 38 total tornadoes since 1950, according to the weather service.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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