Active as of 9:10 AM EDT, September 20, 2026. The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has issued a Flash Flood Warning for parts of east-central Ohio — including portions of Belmont, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, and Tuscarawas counties — in effect until noon EDT.
Between 1.5 and 2.5 inches of rain have already fallen across the warned area, with another half inch to an inch possible as the morning progresses. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly — the exact basement-water, saturated-drywall jobs that restoration teams in the Ohio Valley know as the classic Sunday-morning cloudburst pattern.
This is a live snapshot as of 9:10 AM EDT. Conditions change fast — always verify with the National Weather Service for your specific county or ZIP code.
Eastern Ohio — Flash Flood Warning
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at 9:02 AM EDT, September 20, 2026.
Expires: 12:00 PM EDT.
Counties: Northern Belmont County; Northeastern Guernsey County; Southern Harrison County; Southwestern Jefferson County; Southern Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
Hazard, verbatim from the alert: “Flash flooding caused by heavy rain.” Source: “Radar indicated” — Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the warned area at 9:02 AM EDT. Impact, verbatim: “Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.”
The National Weather Service expects rainfall totals in the warned area to keep climbing through the morning commute. Creeks and streams in east-central Ohio can rise fast on this kind of already-saturated ground — a gauge jump from nuisance to destructive can happen in well under an hour on small tributaries.
Locations that will experience flash flooding include: Martins Ferry, St. Clairsville, Freeport, Newcomerstown, Bridgeport, Antrim, Flushing, Adena, Dillonvale, Brookside, Port Washington, Mount Pleasant, Holloway, New Athens, Harrisville, Piedmont, Tippecanoe and Gilmore.
NWS Pittsburgh’s office page is weather.gov/pbz. This warning was issued through the National Weather Service alert system (AWIPS identifier FFWPBZ, WMO WGUS51 KPBZ) as VTEC event /O.NEW.KPBZ.FF.W.0151 — valid 9:02 AM to 12:00 PM EDT, September 20.
Stay safe this morning
Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Never drive through flooded roadways — water as shallow as six inches can reach the bottom of most cars, and moving water can sweep a vehicle off the road at depths far lower than most drivers expect. A flooded roadway can also hide a washed-out surface or a collapsed culvert underneath.
If water enters your home: stay out of standing water where electricity may be present, and stay out of the basement until water recedes and power is confirmed off. Photograph everything before any cleanup — documentation is what makes an insurance claim move. Then call a local restoration contractor: water left sitting starts a second wave of damage — mold, swelling, delamination — within a day.
What this means for restoration teams
This is the signature eastern-Ohio spring-and-fall pattern: 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain in a few hours on rolling terrain, with creeks feeding into the Ohio River corridor around Martins Ferry and Bridgeport. Expect the damage mix that follows flash flooding in these counties — interior water intrusion from overwhelmed storm drainage, saturated drywall and insulation in finished basements, mold risk within 24 to 48 hours where water sits against organic material, and sewage backup in low-lying areas where combined systems overflow.
The play: stage equipment now, not after the warning expires. Pre-position dehumidifiers and air movers for east-central Ohio response, keep an on-call rotation through the morning, and when the calls start coming, capture address, water source, and affected areas on the very first call. The first call intake is what determines whether a job is profitable — vague intake becomes unpaid detective work on site.
Field discipline: photo-document everything before mitigation starts. Moisture-map every affected room, not just the visibly wet ones — water wicks behind baseboards and under flooring well beyond the obvious line. And keep the homeowner’s payment responsibility clear in writing before work starts; emergency-morning jobs signed in a hurry are the ones that turn into collection headaches later.
FEMA & federal assistance
If your property is damaged, the FEMA Helpline is 1-800-621-3362 (7 a.m.–10 p.m. local time, 7 days a week). You can also apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or through the FEMA app, and find in-person recovery centers at fema.gov/drc.
Basic eligibility: U.S. citizenship or qualified status, identity verification, proof of occupancy or ownership, and unmet needs not covered by insurance. Apply as soon as it is safe to do so — you do not need to wait for every contractor estimate before starting the application.
Looking ahead
This warning runs until noon EDT. When it expires, that does not mean the water is gone — small creeks and streams in east-central Ohio can stay elevated or crest later in the day as upstream runoff collects. Watch for additional rounds of showers through the afternoon, and treat any low-water crossing or underpass as suspect until you can see the road surface.
Demand window: water-intrusion calls typically start within hours of water receding and keep coming for days as people discover damage — the musty smell shows up Monday, the buckled flooring shows up Tuesday. The next NWS update for this event will be the expiration or extension at noon; the watch for new alerts continues through the rest of the morning.
Sources & how to verify
- NWS alert — Flash Flood Warning for east-central Ohio (api.weather.gov)
- NWS Pittsburgh office page — weather.gov/pbz
To verify for your own county or ZIP code, go to weather.gov and enter your location, or check the NWS Pittsburgh page directly. The National Weather Service is the authoritative source; this post is a working snapshot only.
This post is for informational purposes and is not an official weather warning. Always follow instructions from local authorities and the National Weather Service.




