Tornado confirmed in Washington County

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in Washington County Friday, part of a storm that caused record rainfall and flooding in parts of Western Pennsylvania.

The NWS said that the tornado touched down in Lone Pine just after 3:20 p.m. Friday and rated it an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale that is used to classify tornados between EF0 and EF5.

The tornado traveled about 2.4 miles, with an estimated maximum wind speed of 90 miles per hour and an estimated maximum path width of 250 yards.

It tore the roof off of a porch attached to a home and lifted a roof off of a detached garage, in addition to damaging and snapping many trees. No one was injured.

Several other areas are cleaning up from flooding, with the Red Cross offering assistance to residents of Redstone and Menallen in Fayette County, Ligonier in Westmoreland County and several locations in central Indiana County. Fayette County declared a state of emergency, according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

The storm dropped record rainfall Friday in what has already been a rainy month. The 11.92 inches recorded thus far in June at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin already qualify as the rainiest June on record, said Fred McMullen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The Donegal exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike saw 3.28 inches of rain on Friday alone, while Wheeling, W.Va., and Zanesville, Ohio, set one-day records at 2.06 inches and 2.2 inches.

“We issued flash flood warnings, they had water rescues, lots of road closures,” said Mr. McMullen. “It looked pretty crazy.”

The region will have an opportunity to dry out, with no significant rainfall in the forecast for the next four or five days. The temperature will drop substantially, he said, with highs for Monday and Tuesday expected to be in the high 60s.

“Enjoy the quiet weather,” said Mr. McMullen.

Anya Sostek: asostek@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1308.