Blue violets, 28 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

3 May 2025

On Monday and before 5pm on Tuesday, spring was proceeding as normal though warm in Pittsburgh. I took photos of flowers and trees and leaves.

• Blue violets
• Pawpaw flowers and the beginnings of leaves
• Red maple leaves and samaras.

Pawpaw flower, 2 May 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Red maple leaves and samaras, 28 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Then on Tuesday just after 5:00pm a line storm with derecho winds hit Pittsburgh and wiped out trees and power lines. Many trees were simply snapped off as those shown below in Schenley Park yesterday.

Who knew this oak was hollow? The wind took it apart on 29 April 2025, Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)

Hemlock tree snapped off near Schenley Park Visitors’ Center on 29 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Pittsburgh Public Works started sawing their way into the park. The top of the hemlock was one of the first to cut as it was blocking the access road.

Top of the hemlock tree, cut by Public Works, Schenley Park, 2 May 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

For an update on the damage, see this 24-minute video from CBS Pittsburgh. 24 minutes is a LONG time to watch so feel free to stop viewing at any time. The first 3 minutes give you the flavor of what it’s like. And as a for instance, three friends still don’t have power.

Our apartment is fine. Our power comes in underground.