Pennsylvania, 1996

High Wind in Pennsylvania, January 18, 1996

January 18, 1996 · NWS CLE · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

High winds ahead of and following a cold front gusted to 60 and 70 mph and downed and number of trees, limbs, and powerlines. In Erie County, route 98 was closed for a time from downed trees.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$11,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS CLE wrote it up.

High winds ahead of and following a cold front gusted to 60 and 70 mph and downed and number of trees, limbs, and powerlines. In Erie County, route 98 was closed for a time from downed trees.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Northern Erie

When
January 18, 6:20 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Erie forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southern Erie

When
January 18, 6:20 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Erie forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Crawford

When
January 18, 6:20 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Crawford forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
41.685, -80.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5537435, 5537436, 5537437.