Just how gloomy is Pittsburgh, some cherry-picked data...

[ditchdigger]

The one described in your post above is a different tornado for that day. Mt. Washington isn't between Carnegie and Westmoreland County.

I remember watching it on the news before it hit Mt. Washington. It hadn't touched down. It literally ran into Mt. Washington. Where it went afterwards doesn't change that fact.

If it's the same tornado, the article might be an inaccurate description of the path.

Can you find a record of a different one that hit Mt Washington?

I agree that the reference to Carnegie is a little at odds with my recollection as well, but if you consider Thornburg or Pennsbury Village as the initial touchdown point ("just northwest of Carnegie") it doesn't sound too far off. The NWS are the ones who know about this stuff, and I'll take their word for it.

I do recall reports of trees down in the area of the West End, which would put it on the ground before Mt Washington.

There was video. The news station had a clear direct line view of the tornado hanging in the sky above the rivers before it ran into Mt. Washington.

NWS findings are based on examination of evidence on the ground, as well as other factors. They look at things like broken limbs of trees, and the direction in which they broke, relative to the direction of the storm, in making a determination. Just because video footage didn't clearly show a "funnel" reaching all the way to the ground doesn't mean the tornado didn't happen there.

[Katiana]

That May 31, 1985 tornado hit Beaver Falls, up by the turnpike (Exit 2).

[dugdogmaster]

Originally Posted by Katiana

That May 31, 1985 tornado hit Beaver Falls, up by the turnpike (Exit 2).

Ya, they were hit by an F-3 that day.