Looking back at Hurricane Ivan's flooding impacts in Western Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Sept. 17, 2024 marks 20 years since Hurricane Ivan hit the U.S. and caused much damage in Western Pennsylvania.

It began as a tropical wave near Cape Verde before undergoing several cycles of intensification along its westward path toward the Greater Antilles.

Hurricane Ivan's path toward Pittsburgh

Ivan strengthened three times to a Category 5 on its journey through the Caribbean toward the United States. It officially made landfall just after midnight on Sept. 16, west of Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 hurricane and weakened due to dry air, strong wind shear and cooler waters.

Even after making landfall, Ivan's impact extended well beyond the storm's center. Ivan produced major storm surge flooding along the Alabama and Florida Gulf coasts, heavy rain from the Gulf Coast to New England and an outbreak of 117 tornadoes, nine of which occurred in Pennsylvania.

Causes of flooding from Hurricane Ivan

The greatest impacts in Pennsylvania and West Virginia were from inland flooding due to heavy rain. Ivan's remnant moisture met up with a cold front moving east from the midwest, which led to heavy rain from Sept. 17, 2004, to Sept. 18, 2024.

In Pittsburgh, 5.95 inches of rain fell during those two days, the most amount of rain associated with tropical cyclone remnants on record.

On top of that, this heavy amount of rain came just a couple of weeks after the remnants of Hurricane Frances brought 3.83 inches of rain to the city.

One of the hardest hit communities in the Pittsburgh area was Millvale, as Girty's Run spilled out of its banks and crested three feet above major flood stage.

The United States Geological Survey Stream Guage Station at Girty's Run above Grant Avenue in Millvale is used to monitor water levels at the creek. At 11 feet, flood stage is reached.

At 16.8 feet, water reaches the top of the concrete wall. At 18 feet, water pours into this surrounding parking lot. During Hurricane Ivan, water reached an astounding 21 feet, leading to disaster in the town.

When all was said and done, Hurricane Ivan caused six deaths in Pennsylvania and caused $85 million in damage statewide. In West Virginia, mudslides and flooding from Ivan blocked more than 200 roads, causing $16 million in damage.