Tuesday 15 June 2021
At 6pm on Sunday evening a violent thunderstorm blew through Pittsburgh with powerful wind gusts, hail and heavy rain.
Dave DiCello photographed the storm from the West End as it approached Oakland. The VA Hospital and the Cathedral of Learning are to the right of the lightning bolt.
Watching that storm roll into #Pittsburgh today was incredible. A huge hail core, tons of lightning; looked like the apocalypse coming into town. Though this wasn't the largest bolt I captured tonight, it is my favorite image. An absolute monster of a cloud. Lots more to come. pic.twitter.com/b6aqMnbPNZ
— Dave DiCello (@DaveDiCello) June 14, 2021
Meanwhile my husband and I watched from our 6th floor apartment as a wind gust picked up the patio umbrella from the high-rise roof next door and blew it, Mary Poppins-like, until it crashed into our building. Then we saw no more as rain and hail battered our windows for half an hour, first from the north, then the east.
The tempest left behind flooding, downed trees, power outages, and a rainbow.
Yesterday morning I surveyed the damage after the cleanup had already begun. In a short walk I found trees down at Frick Fine Arts, Carnegie Library and Museum, and two small breaks on South Craig Street.
At Schenley Park the valley around Panther Hollow Lake was spared but the lake itself was full of flood water. This is by design. A flow control gate at the outlet holds back freshwater so that storms will not flood The Run.
This morning the power was still out in parts of Squirrel Hill as I drove home from the grocery store.
My husband and I were fortunate. Our power never failed and that flying umbrella hit the wall below us and caused no damage.
p.s. The young Pitt peregrines are flying so well that they are hard to find. I saw both adults plus two of four juveniles on my Monday morning walk.
(photos by Kate St. John)
I drove around a bit Sunday night to charge my phone (since our power I South Oakland was out!) – and the street between Carnegie Library & Schenley Plaza was flooded! I guess the storm drains couldn’t handle all the water.
Lots of landscapers and Duquesne Light trucks along Parkview and Beechwood on my drive from Homestead to Regent Square late this afternoon.
I live in North Squirrel Hill and just got my power restored at 3 PM, TODAY!
I’m curious. What do the peregrines (and other birds) do in hail storms? Do they sit under an overhang?
Cheryl, just like everyone else birds do the best they can to get out of the storm. Here’s an article I wrote about it after Hurricane Sandy in 2012: https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2012/10/30/shelter-from-the-storm/
The storms on Sunday and Monday showed us the massive force and fury of Mother Nature. I don’t recall such storms in years past. So glad that no one was injured or killed by the falling trees, lightning or flying umbrellas. My friend who lives off of Greentree Road is still without power since Monday afternoon.
Thanks, Kate for the photos of the devastation and the beautiful shot of the rainbow.