McSummerfest in McDonald weathers bad storm
A bad storm Monday night sent festivalgoers running for cover in trailers and a pavilion at McSummerfest in McDonald.

Photo courtesy of Kenny Ward
Photos courtesy of Kenny Ward
McSummerfest tents, above, were toppled by strong winds and heavy rain Monday night as McDonald’s festivalgoers sought shelter in a pavilion and trailers.
“People were standing under umbrellas,” said Ernie Pusateri, chairman of the annual festival. “People were checking maps on their phones, saying it was going to clear up. But it was like 10 seconds and it was here.”
Pusateri said the storm started about 7:30 p.m. and caused sudden heavy rain, hail and strong winds that toppled tents, umbrellas and ripped away both sides of the stage walls, which were made of plastic and held down with zip ties.
According to John Darnley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, McDonald was “hit really good” with about two inches of rain during the storm, which he called a “collapsing thunderstorm.”

Photo courtesy of Kenny Ward
McSummerfest tents were toppled by strong winds and heavy rain Monday night as McDonald’s festivalgoers sought shelter in a pavilion and trailers.
“It’s very much like a microburst, but not strong enough to be labeled that,” Darnley said. “It centered right over McDonald.”
Matt Amoroso, a lieutenant with McDonald Volunteer Fire Department, said they responded to 12 calls between 7:30 and 9 p.m.
“We had some trees down, wires down and some tents down,” he said.
A tree fell on a Grant Street house, but the homeowners weren’t there, Amoroso said. He said Johns Avenue also had a considerable amount of flooding.
Derek Benard, who works for Walker Pro Audio, was trying to prepare the stage and assess any damage Tuesday morning. He said a band was still on stage Monday when the storm hit.
“We just grabbed tarps and started covering things,” he said.

Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A collapsing thunderstorm rolled into McDonald Monday night interrupting festivalgoers at McSummerfest.
But the show was going on in McDonald, thanks to help from community members, firefighters and several surrounding volunteer fire departments, who all helped Monday night to clean up and fix tents. Pusateri said they still plan on having live music each night through Saturday.