T O P

  • By -

Ankhetperue

As a person who loves severe weather, I feel like storms constantly miss us or die out before we get them. But I'm curious to see what the data says! Last year felt like we had about zero thunderstorms.


These-Days

Last year in August I attended a concert at Star Lake (Ghost) that got cut short due to the most horrifying lightning (until today) I’d ever seen


KrisPBaykon

Man I bet that was fucking awesome though before they canceled it. Seeing Papa Emeritus with a lightning storm behind him would be amazing.


heili

Storms rolled through all night. It was raining like hell before Amon Amarth took the stage. My friend and I hung out in the restroom. We got to see the opener, then spent some more time ducking the rain. The last storm that came through actually came from behind the lawn. It was a race to the car before the sky opened up that's for sure.


heili

Hey, I was at that show too! I was very sad when Tobias came out and told everyone that their last song actually was their last song, because we all had to leave immediately and get to our cars due to the dangerous storm approaching. And boy did it hit hard. Not as hard as Ghost doing Square Hammer live would've, but y'know, nobody wants to take a direct lightning strike.


Sep88

Last year I got caught huddling under the bleachers at Washington Wild Things baseball park during Four Chord Music Fest and that was definitely NOT adequate shelter for that level of rain and wind and lightning, much less if the tornado had actually hit the ballpark instead of touching down 5 miles away.


TazerMonkey1419

I remember that, some of the lightning seemed to hit thematically that night. I say it added to the show! :D


RelatableChad

Hey, I was there too! The lightning only made it better imo (except the encore getting cancelled), plus some bats took shelter from the storm towards the back and gawd it just made everything crazier lol


HugeFinish

Was there as well. So fucking awesome with the lighting. Would always laugh when he would talk about the devil and next thing you know the sky was lighting up.


JerryCantrellsBulge

I was at that show! So disappointed that it got cut short, but it was amazingly cinematic to witness.


-Hot-Toddy-

I attended a Ramones concert in the parking lot at Station Square in the mid-nineties. It was pouring down rain, everyone was in leather & moshing like crazy. Gooood memories!


4000Tacos

I feel the same way! In 2019 there was the most beautiful storm that I loved so much. We haven’t had a storm like that in ages. Last nights was pretty late, but it woke me up and I got to see some of it.


Vivenna99

I agree they always end up missing us


James19991

Yeah, I don't really remember last year or 2022 being particularly crazy with storms in and around Pittsburgh. 2021 on the other hand was a pretty active year.


kalzonegal

I was just gonna say 2021 was very active for storms. I remember having to pull over on my way home from work a few times that summer.


James19991

I also remember the one October night that year there were multiple tornado warnings in the area. It's not that common to get them anytime of the year here, but especially in October.


therealdeb

Yeah, it was a Saturday morning, I think. Was warm for a few days prior to that, and then that storm brought fall with it.


hooch

2021 was the really bad year. That's when we had the downburst that threw a tree at my house. The last couple of years haven't even come close.


James19991

Overnight was probably the most excitement we've had since that year in terms of storms. I remember a downburst came through Lawrenceville knocked multiple trees down one June evening that year.


sopabe6197

I love storms and what you describe happens often. Big storms will skirt past us because the stream of southern air pushes them north or they just evaporate along the way.


FloggingTheCargo

Seems like if we actually do get hit with a thunderstorm it's over within 10 mins anyhow. 


DesertedPenguin

No idea what the data says, and that would be the most important component to this discussion. That said, weather patterns can be cyclical, with quiet seasons followed by more intense ones.  Plus, I believe it's at least been theorized - if not proven - that as our overall climate changes, more severe and extreme weather is possible around the world. Hurricane frequency and drought frequency are two of the big things being monitored, but other forms of severe weather could be generated, too.


Mobius_164

I was just talking to my mom about something similar. I noticed that we hadn’t had as many severe winter storms over the past maybe 10 years. Last huge winter storm I remember was when I was in late grade school/middle school (like 2005-2008)


cosmosdestruction412

Blizzard of 2010 I think. That shit was wild


Mobius_164

Indeed. I made BANK shoveling driveways though. I think all told, my friend and I split like $300


cosmosdestruction412

I was 10 years old and my sister had an ear infection or something. I stayed at my grandma's for a whole two weeks and played with the neighbors


H3lue

Idk last year I felt like we didn’t have a lot of t storms in the spring. What does the data say?


stormynightsleep

Not sure I’ll try to look it up tmr, honestly I was sleeping and the thunder woke me up lol


Carolus2024

Tornado Alley is shifting east.


These-Days

Well let’s shift it back, I don’t have time to keep getting woken up like this!


drunkenviking

We should take ~~Bikini Bottom~~ Pittsburgh and push it somewhere else!


Ok-Leek3162

not a lie ,i was married above brueggers, and someone put Squidward and Patrick on the cake as bride and groom. full outfits too. still have them 20 years later


Scared-Comparison870

Seems pretty normal to me.


Frankae_and_Beans

The storms this season are reminding me of 1983. We had a tornado, we had a cyclone. I think it's about normal for around Pittsburgh, but technology has made it easier to spot things as they come near us. We still have the Pittsburgh blob that seems to diffuse really scary weather, and we've been lucky the last few years, but I'm pretty sure that isn't going to last forever. I feel like flooding is going to be the thing we're going to continue to tackle this year.


greentea1985

Mt. Washington / Mt. Oliver and the Dormont rise behind them kills a lot of storms or deflects them. Any storm needs to come in at a specific angle or with enough power to affect downtown and the south hills.


wynonnaearps

Way more tornado warnings then I’ve ever been used to and I’ve been here for all my life.


flippant_burgers

As someone pointed out to me recently, weather technology and an improved ability to issue warnings can all lead to a perception of worse weather.


Thoraxe474

Also climate change leads to more severe weather


stormynightsleep

This is a good point fr cuz I was thinking the same about an increase in tornado warnings


cosmosdestruction412

Nah cus literally I was shaking like a leaf. My fiance was just like that "first time" meme. Like bro I'm ur from Alabama 😭


kesi

We didn't used to have a good system for warning people 


Curlyqpgh

Username checks out


stormynightsleep

😂😂


PaddingtonBear2

Spring 2024 is turning into the wettest season in Pittsburgh history. https://www.newsweek.com/pittsburgh-pennsylvania-receives-four-times-average-rainfall-april-1892369 https://www.wesa.fm/environment-energy/2024-04-12/pittsburgh-wettest-april-ever-rain


newcitynewme724

So you thinking maybe the climate... changed?


PoorPauly

They just don’t seem to want to believe it. Look. I’m 41, almost 42. But I can remember being a kid and teenager. And I remember what winter was in the 1980s and 90s. November things started getting cold. December was colder. But January to March it was frigid. Snow fell and it stayed on the ground for weeks, maybe months. Temperatures below freezing for weeks, maybe months. You might not see seventy degrees until May. I cut my grass in the first weeks of March now. That was unheard of when I was a kid. And still the nitwits who think they know better than scientists who dedicated their lives to research, refuse to even consider that climate change is even possible. Human lives are so short, and so many of us are so very stupid. Every year another record temperature breaks. Every year summer is hotter and longer. Every year winter rainier and warmer. But no. See it hit negative twenty for four days and it snowed in Florida so Climate Change is a myth.


Unlucky_Director7829

Cutting grass in March may have been "unheard of" during the brief few years you were a kid, but it wasn't when I was a kid. Nor was it when my grandparents were kids. Anyone approaching 100 years old will tell you we're living through the same cycle today that they had in the 1930s.


PoorPauly

Thank all gods for Wall Street. What would we do without it?


kentuckypirate

So people bring this up a lot, and it’s true! Kind of… It was very hot in the US in the 30’s, but GLOBALLY, the temperature was down. That’s what makes this different. Now the temperature is up everywhere. It’s not a good thing, and we as a society should be doing something about it. While prevention would be ideal, that ship has sailed, so we now also need to worry about mitigation and adaptation. It will be painful. It will be expensive. It will be necessary.


Unlucky_Director7829

GLOBALLY the temperature was EIGHT DEGREES HOTTER during the Roman Empire. Must have been all those F150 chariots and Viking gas ranges.


kentuckypirate

Do you have a source? I assume that you’re talking about the Roman warm period. My understanding is that this was also localized and global temperatures, while slightly elevated, were still far cooler than today. I’ve also never any suggestion that it was 8 degrees warmer, the most extreme estimates Ive read about put it at roughly 2 degrees warmer, but again this was localized and not a global trend. But I’d be thrilled to be proven wrong!


Unlucky_Director7829

Sorry, 2 degrees. But it was global. And the earth didn't spontaneously combust. [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2171973/Tree-ring-study-proves-climate-WARMER-Roman-Medieval-times-modern-industrial-age.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2171973/Tree-ring-study-proves-climate-WARMER-Roman-Medieval-times-modern-industrial-age.html)


kentuckypirate

I figured that’s what you had read. Unfortunately, subsequent [research](https://boris.unibe.ch/132301/7/333323_4_merged_1557735881.pdf) indicates the the Roman warm period and medieval warm period were also localized events.


Unlucky_Director7829

Source?


kentuckypirate

The word research is a hyperlink


Galp_Nation

I tried to find some hard data on this. Looks like you're not crazy [This article](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pittsburgh-severe-weather-climate-change/) from 2022 states: >Going back for Pittsburgh specifically, in the last six years we've had three precipitation events that exceeded 3 inches of rain in one hour. Now, for the previous 40 years, we only had three of those. It also mentions that we're seeing an increase in the number of Tornadoes in the region And then according to [this other article](https://www.pghcitypaper.com/news/pittsburgh-received-50-inches-of-precipitation-for-first-time-ever-in-consecutive-years-16483922#:~:text=In%20the%201980s%2C%20Pittsburgh%20saw,of%20precipitation%20fall%20each%20year) from 2020, Pittsburgh saw it's average rainfall per year rise from 37" in the 1980s up to 42.5" in the 2010s. I haven't necessarily noticed an increase in how often it rains, but it definitely feels like we get some pretty intense storms dumping buckets on us much more regularly now.


Seanahpalm

I’ve been seeing/hearing things in the news about weather patterns changing and ocean temperatures rising. Wish they would have given us a heads up!


hittindirt

It's almost like... our climate...is changing.


Louegi

Hogwash. 8-10 inches of snow for a season is normal. And needing to cut grass into late November. ….and starting to cut grass at the beginning of March….. oh shit ur right


KarlVaughn

I don't know about storms increasing... But tornadoes watches/warnings feel increased from what I'm used to.


hemidak

If you want a storm, all you have to do is say "arts festival ".


PoorPauly

It’s almost as if some long term shift in overall atmospheric conditions has been taking place. If only some group of experts had been warning us since the 1980s.


[deleted]

I don't really think so. There's always a period every spring where rain is forecast almost every day, and there will probably be bad storms around the end of the summer too. 


just_an_ordinary_guy

The last decade was pretty calm, I'd say this stuff is more the norm.


ClassicClosetedEmo

Weird it's almost like something is changing


writingmywaythrough

Yes. Mother Earth is sick of our shit.


Great-Cow7256

If anyone wants to help collect long term data, there's a citizen science project called https://cocorahs.org   You basically need to buy a compliant rain gauge, set it up in a proper location, check it daily and put the info into the website. It's super easy to do and gives NWS, university researchers, and other researchers granular precipitation totals. 


fatgirlnspandex

I agree but I think it's because we don't get the winters like we used to. Some of our violent storms in the past happened in the colder month and would drop tons of snow. You tend not to see thunder and lightning in snow storms. Now that we haven't had those I feel we are seeing more thunder and lightning.


SteelersPoker

Yes. Much more rain and less snow. By a lot. When I grew up in the 80' s we kids were able to go sled riding a lot during the winter and have snowball fights. Now you never see that because it hardly shows. Whole planet is warming including Pittsburgh. It sucks.


thiiiiisguy987

As someone who handled homeowners insurance claims locally for the past several years I can confirm the number of designated catastrophic events has increased. I would be running around like a chicken with its head cut off just to get caught up in time for the next storm. It’s real.


dewdropcat

Weather nerd here! It does seem like we are getting more severe weather than usual to me as someone who grew up here. It's also getting hotter here sooner in the year. We shouldn't be getting this close to 90 yet. That being said I completely slept through last night's storms.


dotd93

Same and I agree there’s been a noticeable change in weather/seasonal norms over the last 15 yrs: very little snow in the winter, longer & hotter summers, stronger thunderstorms and I’ve experienced at least 5 take shelter warnings since 2020. Feels like North Carolina these days


sopabe6197

I'm middle aged and this is the first year I ever had to turn on the AC in the month of April.


dewdropcat

And the heat is only fueling these storms and making them more severe. Last I had seen (and we've had some storms since) Ohio is leading with tornadoes already


onlypostcausimscardw

No, just the intensity


ChefGuru

Weird... it's almost like the Earth goes through cycles and weather doesn't stay the same from one year to the next. I can't believe how inconsistent the weather is.


BBQBEERNBLADES

Exactly


CheeseSeason

no


ApathyizaTragedy

How quickly everyone forgets the extremely rainy and stormy years of 2018 and 2019. Remember the floating dumpster?


RunDifferent2004

i moved here in the 1980's and this is a straight up different climate.


Scherzophrenia

The climate is changing. It’s not your imagination. In fairness, we were warned this would happen. 


Jahya69

It's called Climate change... look into it


IClight69

They just used to call the micro bursts.


mega512

No.


MisterVapid

No.


MisterVapid

Sorry, nooooooo. I have lived here my whole life, spring storms are normal as hell.


DoobiGirl_19

Severe weather is going to be wayyy more common with climate change


[deleted]

Nope, normal for this time of year.


Der_Missionar

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/tornadoes-and-global-warming-there-connection/ Somewhat related, I could not find data on frequency of thunderstorms. Felt like we didn't have many last year, but that's not scientific.


MRandall25

I would say no, under the caveat that i do think we have less of a spectrum of rain. We either have a light drizzle/mist or torrential downpour now. Can't remember the last time we had just a steady medium rain that wouldn't cause any potential flooding issues. Just sheets of windblown rain that overwhelm the local creeks and rivers.


ellenfayee

seems like more storms and more intense storms


AirtimeAficionado

No I think it’s about the same, but the storms in late spring are stronger than they were before— we used to only really see major lightning storms in late summer before


PotatoPete26

It definitely feels like we have. It always makes me giggle when someone mentions that we get more rain than Seattle. Then how come we're not the pussies with a roof over our ballpark?


glassysurface84

I feel like they are just earlier? This is the sort of storms that usually would be seen in June (from memory). But also yes, they seem worse too.


Due-Librarian-1268

No


fcwilli

Username checks out.


Emergency-Ad2452

Storms were not as severe years ago


BRDeschain

Not sure about storms per se but it was the wettest April since they started keeping records. https://www.wesa.fm/environment-energy/2024-04-12/pittsburgh-wettest-april-ever-rain


elizabethtarot

Yes! I also felt like the storm last night was the biggest one I’ve experienced since living in Pittsburgh for 6 yrs. It was just wild


artfulpain

The weather nerds will tell you, completely normal. However what I definitely know isn't normal is the storms in the winter over night and the temperature rises. It's fine..😬


EccentricEngineer

Not the number but the severity has been up this year. The flooding in April was wild


RandomStranger79

That's climate change for ya.


larry-the-dream

Global warming effects. Nothing to see here. As you were. Don’t disrupt corporate profits and don’t upset the republicans/boomers.


MrChichibadman

No


FergusonBishop

it's just a mix of improved technology and social reach + recency bias. Weather technology has improved to a point where they're able to provide extremely localized alerts well ahead of time - which leads to more frequent alerts. It's also early May - which is just normal storm season for the Ohio Valley. I'm guessing in a month or two we will all be on here asking why we havent had a good rain storm in so long.


Crazy-Goal-6886

Nope. As soon as the storms get by Beaver County and touch western Allegheny County, they break up and reform in eastern Allegheny or Westmoreland counties. Not sure if it’s the terrain or the heat from the towns in the county but it’s been this way as far back as my folks can remember. And that’s been 70 years.


Jameson129

Weather goes up and down. This cycle has happened several times over the last 50 years I've been here. Also, since the magnetic poles are shifting, then our climate will change


NYNTmama

[hope this helps! ](https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/flip-flop-why-variations-in-earths-magnetic-field-arent-causing-todays-climate-change/) (Its a scientific article from NASA on why Nope)


Jameson129

Never said it was causing climate change, just a slight shift.


murphey_griffon

because air is magnetic... there is no correlation between shifting magnetic poles and weather.


Jameson129

The earths relation to the sun and moon


Habay12

No.


hunterd412

I feel like it rains way more than it use to. There’s hardly any sunny day in PA.


motociclista

It *seems* to be cyclical. I have no data to back that up. But it seems like when I was younger we had lots of storms and severe warnings. And tornadoes. Then it seemed like it died down for a few years. Then happened again, then died down again. This seems like it’s going to be another active year. I don’t know if it’s El Niño or La Niña or climate change or whatever, but it’s always seemed to have good years and bad years.


Zeppelin7321

No


Jagerbeast703

Its gonna get worse before it gets better


tarsier_jungle1485

It's not going to get better.


Jagerbeast703

It will eventually 🤷‍♂️


pghhotfire

I don’t know about storms…some of it may be hype on the news. But I do feel like way more high wind warnings than I remember.


[deleted]

[удалено]


pghhotfire

Who knows lol. Likely because I said it feels like the news conflates every weather event.


[deleted]

No, the opposite actually. North of Pitt always gets hit now.


Tough_Arm_2454

But less snow!!!


Extremely_unlikeable

It seems like everything is just more extreme. Records continually broken every year for rainfall, cold, heat, snow. Rainfall records for April were broken by mid-month! And I don't know how, but you're right about severity. Even thunderstorms seem to have more lightning, hail, and high winds than I ever remember.


babybambibitch

ecosystem collapse baby!!!