Pittsburg, PA

Defining the terms

Published

2 years ago

May 11, 2024

Press Room

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Recently we had some intense rainfall that caused intense flooding.

That might even be an understatement.

The rainfall was so heavy near Oakdale that swift water rescue crews were called out to rescue people and roads were closed because the Oakdale area had life-threatening flooding.

Water rescue in Oakdale after heavy rains and flooding

Advertisement

Ray Petelin

When all is said and done, that area saw a 40 or 50-year flood!

But what does the term “50-year flood” even mean? To help explain, let’s bring in our friend Fred McMullen from the National Weather Service office in Pittsburgh.

You can read Elizabeth and I’s conversation with Fred below!

Elizabeth: Hi Fred! What is a 50-year flood?

Fred: It really encapsulates a rainfall event within a certain time window. And so, when we say you know, a 50-year flood, we’re looking for a certain precipitation amount in a certain time window, and then over a location because it varies by location. One of the misnomers that people have is they think they can get a 100-year flood in back-to-back years. What we try to tell people is that a 100-year flood is just really a 1% chance of occurrence every single year. So, if you have a 100-year flood at your house, the next year, the probability is still 1%. But again, I’m giving you just one, you would think it’d be a little bit less than the previous year.

Ray: What does this mean for people?

Fred: Say you take a 30-year mortgage on your house and a 1% chance of occurrence flood which is you know, essentially one in 50. You know, 150 to 100 years, has a 1% chance of occurrence, but over the life of your mortgage, if you weren’t in the 100-year floodplain, there’s a 26% chance that during the life of your mortgage of 30 years that you could see a 100-year flood. So, over time those numbers go up there based on the math calculations.

Elizabeth: Can anything change the definition of these floods?

Fred: We have river stages, and then we associate certain impacts at this level, this road closes. Stream channels can change over time, especially the ones that haven’t had a flood in say 20 to 30 years, and we see impacts that you know are not happening where they used to be, so those are some of the changes that we have. And then also with urbanization, you know, we put more houses in a location. There’s more runoff into the stream, and then we typically see higher stream flows, and then that could lead to more flooding potentially given more runoff.

Ray: How do more frequent and heavy rainfall events factor into this?

Fred: We were going through a process now where we’re updating this atlas here, so we’ll have you know, more data, more recent data to allow us to kind of tweak those numbers so some places where you don’t see a lot of development. Heavier rain events will lead to, you know, higher frequency. It may not lead to the same amount of impact as you would in a place that has big urban sprawl but allows us to fine-tune the data to make sure we have an accurate representation because the datasets are always moving. Flooding occurs at random intervals. It could be that you’re gonna have two or three years of really wet years, then go through a dry spell. California was really dry, and reservoirs really low. The last two winters we’ve had a lot of rain events. Now the reservoirs were back at, you know, at full levels. So it’s one of those things where we tried to kind of capsulate trends and trends and science trends in the atmosphere and trends and whether anything else,

Ray Petelin

Meteorologist Ray Petelin joined the KDKA Weather Team in October 2018, but is no stranger to the weather in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. He has been forecasting in Pittsburgh since 2011 and in Western PA since January of 2003.

Source link

Pittsburg, PA

‘Wandering Minstrel’ Chuck Watts has died at 74

Published

6 hours ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

‘Wandering Minstrel’ Chuck Watts has died at 74

ACCOUNT

SECTIONS

OTHER

CLASSIFIEDS

Source link

Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh Penguins Will Trade Rickard Rakell To Ottawa Senators

Published

18 hours ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Pittsburgh Penguins Will Trade Rickard Rakell To Ottawa Senators

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Pittsburgh Penguins were in trade rumors all summer long, but the front office elected to hold onto multiple veteran players. Pittsburgh has wanted to get younger across the roster, but with so many older players on the team, this has been a little difficult.

*PREDICTION*

One player who was subject to rumors this year has been veteran Rickard Rakell, who is coming off a career year with Pittsburgh. Rakell scored 35 goals and had 35 assists for Pittsburgh last season, playing in 81 games during the regular season.

The veteran has dealt with some injuries this year that have limited his time on the ice so far. The Penguins have held a high asking price for the veteran, but moving him could net them some strong assets for the future.

Rakell still has three years left on his current contract, and he is scheduled to make $5 million each season. This could impact some potential deals, with opposing teams likely wanting the Penguins to eat some of the salary.

It remains to be seen if the Penguins’ front office will end up trading Rakell, but he could be a strong candidate. Multiple teams have inquired about him, and the Penguins will be a team to watch closely as the trade deadline approaches next month.

Penguins Move Rickard Rakell to Ottawa

As the Penguins assess the future of multiple guys on the roster, Rakell does seem like he could be on the move ahead of the NHL trade deadline. One team that could look to pull the trigger on a deal to land him is the Ottawa Senators, who could use a boost offensively for the season.

Ottawa made the postseason last season in what was a major surprise around the NHL, and now the team wants to build upon that notion. The Senators have gotten off to a slow start this year themselves, but adding a talent like Rakell could really push this team forward in the Eastern Conference.

We see teams make moves like this all the time, and then they go on a run in the second half of the season to reach the playoffs. Rakell could be a solid addition to the Senators, and he could be the missing piece for them to make a playoff run.

While Rakell won’t fix all the issues that the Senators have on the roster, he could at least fill some of the holes that they have seen this year. Rakell has proven that his contract is more than worth it, and this could be a move to help Ottawa both for this season and in the future.

Ottawa’s front office has been active in recent years, and Rakell could be a solid move for them to consider. The two sides could link up for a deal to get done once the NHL freeze lifts, and the Senators could net one of the bigger names who could be moved this year.

Subscribe to the TWSN Newsletter for original reporting, bold opinions, and real analysis across NFL, NBA, UFC, College Football, and more.

Straight to your inbox. Always authentic.

Source link

Pittsburg, PA

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby sets record for most points by a Canadian at the Olympics

Published

1 day ago

February 15, 2026

Press Room

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby sets record for most points by a Canadian at the Olympics

You can add another achievement to Sidney Crosby’s resume as he is now the all-time leader in points for a Canadian NHL player at the Olympics.

During Sunday’s final game in the preliminary round, Crosby scored in the second period against France to give him three points in the game, and 15 in his Olympic career.

Another milestone unlocked for the 🐐
Crosby’s 15th career #WinterOlympics point passes Jarome Iginla for the most by a Team Canada player in Olympics featuring NHL players. pic.twitter.com/6TIGof5y5f
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 15, 2026
Advertisement

The Penguins and Team Canada captain surpassed Jarome Iginla for the most points by an NHL player with the goal.

So far during the Milano-Cortina Olympics, Crosby has recorded two goals and five assists for seven points.

Sidney Crosby’s history at the Olympics

In 2026, Crosby is looking to win his third Olympic gold medal after winning gold in 2010 and 2014.

In 2010, Crosby scored arguably his most famous goal when he scored in overtime against Team USA in the gold medal game in Vancouver.

Surpassing Iginla for the most points by a Canadian NHL player at the Olympics takes on some sentimental meaning, as Iginla got the primary assist on Crosby’s golden goal in 2010.

That assist ultimately was Iginla’s final point for the Canadian Olympic Team.

During the 2010 games, Crosby scored four goals and three assists for seven points.

Four years later, as team captain for Canada, Crosby led the team to another gold medal while scoring just one goal and two assists in three games.

Crosby’s milestones with the Penguins

In his 20th season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Crosby has done it all. He’s been a league MVP, won scoring titles, and, of course, three Stanley Cup championships.

In December, Crosby surpassed Mario Lemieux as the franchise leader in points.

A goal and an assist against the Montreal Canadiens gave Crosby 1,724 points at the time, surpassing Lemieux’s 1,723.

Since then, Crosby has increased his career point total to 1,746 and is just 10 points shy of surpassing Steve Yzerman for 7th all-time in NHL history.

Crosby has also scored 652 goals in his career, 38 shy of Mario Lemieux’s franchise-leading 690.

In:

Source link