May 31: A big weather anniversary for western PA
Three significant weather disasters occurred on this date.
SO FAR, THE VICTIM’S IDENTITY HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED JUST YET. SWITCHING GEARS, PITTSBURGH’S ACTION WEATHER TODAY, MAY 31ST, IS A NOTORIOUS DAY FOR OUR AREA, WITH SEVERAL NOTABLE WEATHER EVENTS ALL TAKING PLACE ON THIS DATE. THE EARLIEST DISASTER DATES BACK TO 1889 IN JOHNSTOWN, A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE SOUTH FORK DAM, COMING AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF HEAVY RAIN. FLOOD WATERS ENGULFED THE TOWN, KILLING MORE THAN 2200 PEOPLE. TODAY ALSO MARKS THE 41ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE TORNADO OUTBREAK OF 1985. ON THIS DATE, BACK THEN, 44 TORNADOES RIPPED ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, NEW YORK STATE AND ONTARIO, CANADA. THE OUTBREAK PRODUCED PENNSYLVANIA’S FIRST AND ONLY F5 TORNADO. THIS TWISTER DEVASTATING THE SMALL MERCER COUNTY COMMUNITY OF WHEATLAND. IN PA ALONE, 65 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES. MORE THAN 700 OTHERS WERE INJURED AND MORE THAN A THOUSAND HOMES WERE DESTROYED. ALTOGETHER. THIS OUTBREAK TOOK 88 LIVES. YET ANOTHER EVENT WOULD STRIKE IN 2002 ACROSS EASTERN ALLEGHENY AND WESTERN WESTMORELAND COUNTIES. A MICROBURST CARVED A TEN MILE PATH OF DESTRUCTION, WITH STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AS STRONG AS 105MPH. THE STRONGEST CONCENTRATION OF DAMAGE EXTENDING FROM THE WHITAKER AREA TO WEST MIFFLIN. AND, OF COURSE, YOU MAY REMEMBER IN WEST MIFFLIN, THE WOODEN PAVILION OVER THE WHIP AT KENNYWOOD PARK COLLAPSED, KILLING ONE PERSON AND INJURING 47 PEOPLE. MAY 31ST WILL FOREVER MARK A DAY
May 31: A big weather anniversary for western PA
Three significant weather disasters occurred on this date.
Updated: 11:14 AM EDT May 31, 2026
May 31st is a notorious day in western Pennsylvania weather history. Three significant weather events all occurred on this date.The earliest disaster dates back to 1889 in Johnstown. The South Fork Dam failed after several days of heavy rain. Flood waters engulfed the town, killing more than 2200 people.Pennsylvania’s most significant and deadliest tornado outbreak also occurred on this date. 44 twisters ripped across Pa, Ohio, New York and Ontario, Canada. This outbreak produced the Keystone State’s first and only F-5 tornado in Wheatland, Mercer County. More than a thousand homes were destroyed by the tornadoes.In 2002, severe weather would produce straight-line wind damage across eastern Allegheny and western Westmoreland counties. A “macroburst” carved a 10-mile path of destruction with winds up to 105 mph. In West Mifflin, the wooden pavilion over “The Whip” at Kennywood Park collapsed, killing one person and injuring 47 others.
PITTSBURGH —
May 31st is a notorious day in western Pennsylvania weather history. Three significant weather events all occurred on this date.
The earliest disaster dates back to 1889 in Johnstown. The South Fork Dam failed after several days of heavy rain. Flood waters engulfed the town, killing more than 2200 people.
Pennsylvania’s most significant and deadliest tornado outbreak also occurred on this date. 44 twisters ripped across Pa, Ohio, New York and Ontario, Canada.
This outbreak produced the Keystone State’s first and only F-5 tornado in Wheatland, Mercer County. More than a thousand homes were destroyed by the tornadoes.
In 2002, severe weather would produce straight-line wind damage across eastern Allegheny and western Westmoreland counties.
A “macroburst” carved a 10-mile path of destruction with winds up to 105 mph. In West Mifflin, the wooden pavilion over “The Whip” at Kennywood Park collapsed, killing one person and injuring 47 others.