It’s no secret: This year has been a bad one so far for severe thunderstorms around Pittsburgh. In fact, it has been quite an active season throughout the Ohio Valley and a large part of the Midwest.

How bad has it been? In the months of March, April, May and June 2026, Pennsylvania saw a whopping 852 reports of severe weather. By my calculations, that is more than twice the average for the same four-month period during the past 30 years.

These severe weather patterns are similar to 2025 as well, so it’s no wonder that Pittsburghers feel there’s been a lot of severe weather recently. There has been.

My research over the past 40 years has focused on different kinds of weather phenomena. Knowing why weather events happen can give additional guidance to forecasters and improve the models we use to predict it – and help everyday people prepare for severe storms that may affect their daily lives.

How severe thunderstorms happen

Multiple factors come together to create severe storms. Generally, the winds 2-3 miles above the ground need to be at least 30-40 miles per hour greater than they are near the ground. This difference is called the vertical shear.

To form a severe storm, the air near the........

© The Conversation