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Pittsburgh area experiencing unprecedented tornado season

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Pittsburgh area experiencing unprecedented tornado season


PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A wicked week of weather has left residents picking up the pieces throughout the region after multiple tornadoes touched down, including the first in Pittsburgh city limits since 1998.

It’s been an active and unprecedented tornado season for Southwestern Pennsylvania, and according to experts, storm season began a bit early this year.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve seen storms and high winds create a path of destruction throughout the region, including last weekend in Washington County, before it started again yesterday in parts of Westmoreland, Washington, and Allegheny counties.

The National Weather Service confirmed 19 tornadoes in the tri-state area this year, with 10 in Pennsylvania.

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Fourteen happened this month alone, the most we’ve seen in May since 1985. Four of those twisters happened across the Pittsburgh region on Friday.

These numbers are abnormally high. The average number for the entire year is six.

The Pittsburgh Zoo did not take a day off Saturday after a tornado came through on Friday. Parts are a bit messy with leaves and tree limbs strewn about.

On people’s minds was just how rare it was that a tornado was in the city itself.

Tornadoes and Western Pennsylvania don’t typically find themselves in the same sentence.

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“It’s not something that usually happens; it’s like a Kansas thing,” Mat Georgetti said.

Or so Georgetti thought. He spent his day at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

“It’s kind of wild because we have a bunch of mountains here.”

Over in Westmoreland County, National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Kramar was assessing the damage of what was determined to be an EF0 tornado.

“People are very lucky. It moved over highly residential areas. This is a crisis adverted in a way that the damage was as minimal as it was. The tornado was not very strong, but still enough to cause damage to trees, siding, shingles,” Kramar said.

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He got a look at a trampoline that was mangled.

“All of a sudden, I saw the wind going crazy behind me,” Matt Kaninberg said.

Kaninberg says it all happened quickly.

“I didn’t think anything of it. My wife calls me and says you need to get outside now. I look[ed] out, and my trampoline was two houses down; it was crazy.”

Kramar says we average four to six tornadoes a year. We’ve had 19 this year, including 14 in May alone.

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“We are well ahead of schedule on our tornado season,” Kramar said.

Zoo employee Christopher Haro experienced the storm on his way home.

“It’s a bit scary,” Haro said. “It’s a real shocker, I mean, the hot and the cold weather, especially this late in the season already, it’s a lot of devastation going on, so we’re worrying driving home, being inside the house or even with the dogs at home, it’s a lot.”

Everyone is hoping the weather simply calms down.

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Map shows how much snow Pittsburgh area could get by tomorrow

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Map shows how much snow Pittsburgh area could get by tomorrow



Snow is making its way to the Pittsburgh area, but the question on everyone’s mind is how much snow will be on the ground by Thursday evening. 

The KDKA Weather Center has looked at the data and mapped out a timeline for when snow is expected to fall across the area. 

When will it start snowing? 

By 10 p.m. on Wednesday, a strong surface cold front will arrive along the Interstate 79 corridor and the Pittsburgh metro, resulting in a changeover to snow and rapidly falling temperatures. 

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It is unlikely road surfaces will dry up in time before the sharp temperature drop, so a flash freeze is possible on untreated surfaces on Wednesday night. The heaviest snow will shift to mainly the northwest and northern counties after midnight, but lake-effect snow showers and terrain-enhanced snow are likely to continue through most of Thursday afternoon and evening.   

How much snow will western Pennsylvania get? 

Total snow accumulations through Thursday evening will range from 1 to 2 inches for the Pittsburgh metro area, 2 to 4 inches from roughly Route 422 north to Interstate 80 in the Laurel Highlands and ridges, and less than 1 inch from Washington southwest into northern West Virginia. 

Some of the northernmost counties could see 4 to 6 inches of snow with the lake-enhanced activity and in peaks of the Laurel Highlands and ridges. 

A map shows how much snow could fall in the Pittsburgh area by Jan. 15, 2026.

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(Photo Credit: KDKA Weather Cemter)


More snow this weekend

High pressure will lead to a short-duration break in the snow Thursday night into Friday morning, but another fast-moving disturbance will lead to more snow showers Friday afternoon and evening, especially over the northern portions of the Pittsburgh area. 

An additional series of disturbances will lead to more snow showers Saturday and Sunday, but these will be moving fairly quickly and produce nothing more than light amounts of snow. 

Cold temperatures next week

A fresh surge of Arctic air will move in from the northwest on Monday night into Tuesday. High temperatures will likely remain in the teens, with lows in the single digits on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.   

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Fatal Pittsburgh House Fire: Latest Details

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Fatal Pittsburgh House Fire: Latest Details


PITTSBURGH, PA — A man is dead following an overnight house fire in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington section.

According to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials, firefighters were called to the scene of a residential structure fire in the 6600 block of Apple Street at around 2 a.m.

A man was pronounced dead at the scene. A woman was able to escape and was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Her condition was unknown as of Wednesday morning.

The name of the man killed in the blaze has yet to be released.

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Fire investigators are working to determine the cause.



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Former Steelers QB Charlie Batch weighs in on Mike Tomlin stepping down | ‘The Insiders’

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Former Steelers QB Charlie Batch weighs in on Mike Tomlin stepping down | ‘The Insiders’


Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III joins “The Insiders” to discuss his game-winning touchdown against the BaltimoreRavens that clinched a playoff berth, wide receiver DK Metcalf’s return, and the team’s upcoming Wild Card matchup with the Houston Texans.



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