Thunderstorm Wind — Cambria, Pennsylvania

2025-05-01 · near Chest Spgs, Cambria, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

A severe thunderstorm producing wind gusts estimated at 70 mph destroyed a one story wood storage building in the 1100 block of Columbia Street in Allegheny Township north of Loretto.

Wider weather episode

A stationary front stationed along the Allegheny Front and into south-central Pennsylvania provided ample lift in an unstable and highly sheared environment during the afternoon and evening hours of May 1, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms began to form during the late afternoon hour where peak heating led to destabilization along the Allegheny Front, with increased moisture pushed under southeasterly flow from the Chesapeake Bay. Numerous tree damage was reported from these thunderstorms in Clearfield, Centre, and Somerset counties with more widespread damage observed in Cambria County. In Cambria County, numerous trees were knocked down in Johnstown with more extensive damage in the vicinity of Chest Springs, where a one-story wood storage building was completely destroyed, along with a roof lifted off of a barn.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.5492, -78.6291)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1252374. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.