City Could Receive Month's Worth of Rain in Two Days

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, could receive its entire average rainfall for April in the first two days of the month as severe storms grip the region.

The storms sparked an array of weather warnings for the several states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The weather alerts included a widespread flood watch, a tornado watch, a severe thunderstorm warning, a flood warning and a wind advisory.

The storms began on April 1 and are expected to continue at least through April 2, prompting the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center to warn of large hail, severe storms, tornados and damaging wind.

In Pittsburgh, rain began falling Monday and is expected to continue through Tuesday.

"Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout the day. Much of the watch area has received 1 to 3 inches of rain over the past 48 hours, leading to saturated soils and rises in creeks and streams," NWS Pittsburgh reported. "Each round today will have the potential to produce heavy rain resulting in urban and small stream flooding. Additional rainfall estimates through this evening are expected to reach 1 to 2 inches areawide, locally up to 3 inches."

David Shallenberger, an NWS meteorologist, previously told Newsweek that Pittsburgh's average monthly rainfall for April is 3.32 inches, meaning the city could surpass its monthly rainfall in the first two days of the month.

Despite the excessive rain, Shallenberger said it was "certainly not uncommon for this time of year."

NWS meteorologist Shannon Hefferan told Newsweek that rain amounts across Pittsburgh varied from half an inch to 1.5 inches of rain over the past 12 hours.

"It's supposed to continue into the rest of today," she said, adding that precipitation could fall Wednesday and Thursday as well, although the heaviest amounts were expected Tuesday.

Excessive runoff could flood rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations, the NWS said.

The NWS office in Pittsburgh posted warnings about the storm on X, formerly Twitter, as the storm continued to rage Tuesday.

"REMAIN WEATHER AWARE! No big change to the severe risk for today. Large hail, damaging wind, and tornadoes are all possible, with areas west of Pittsburgh under the largest threat. We'll be posting more details on timing and flood risk later this morning," the office posted on April 2.

Shallenberger said that in addition to rain, there was a threat of tornadoes, hail and wind, although those conditions would primarily affect Ohio Tuesday afternoon and evening.

The storms caused power outages, primarily in Indiana and Illinois.

Further northeast, heavy snow and gusty winds are expected to begin Wednesday and last through Friday. The incoming storm has the highest chance of affecting five states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.