Weather Service Confirms Numerous Tornadoes Hit Pittsburgh Area

PITTSBURGH, PA — The National Weather Service has confirmed that four tornadoes touched down in Western Pennsylvania on Sunday as severe storms barreled through the region.

The tornadoes touched down near Ligonier, Donegal and Wilpen in Westmoreland County and near Josephine in Indiana County. All three were EF-1 twisters, which means they had winds of between 86 and 110 mph.

The weather service said further information on the twisters are coming.

The weather service noted that straight line wind can cause damage as bad, or even worse, than tornadoes. The gust to 76 mph that caused damage at Zanesville Airport yesterday was equivalent to the speeds of an EF-0 tornado. That wind gust was the second-highest on record at the airport.

The 89 mph gust at Latrobe Airport did not the damage that the Zanesville winds did, but it the equivalent of an EF-1 twister and was the third-highest gust on record at the airport. The highest was 94 mph in January 1976.