High Wind, Northampton
- When
- January 27, 9:30 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northampton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Pennsylvania, January 27, 1996
High winds preceding a cold front caused wind damage across the Lehigh Valley and parts of Southeast Pennsylvania. In Berks County about 4,500 homes lost power.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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 PHI wrote it up.
High winds preceding a cold front caused wind damage across the Lehigh Valley and parts of Southeast Pennsylvania. In Berks County about 4,500 homes lost power. A 4 by 15 foot company sign was blown over in West Reading. Downed trees forced the closure of Pennsylvania State route 10 in Cumra Township. In Lehigh County 4,000 Metropolitan Edison Company homes lost power mainly in the Slate Belt area. In Northampton County, wind gusts reached 60 mph in Williams Township. In Bucks County, tree limbs, trees and wires were reported down in the lower part of the county. A Ford Bronco was crushed by one falling tree. There also was some wind damage in the Quakertown area, especially from 6th to 11th Streets. Throughout the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) service area (including Bucks County) about 49,000 homes lost power. Wind gusts reached 60 mph in Northeast Philadelphia.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Lehigh
- When
- January 27, 10:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lehigh forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Berks
- When
- January 27, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Berks forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Bucks
- When
- January 27, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Bucks forecast zone
High Wind, Philadelphia
- When
- January 27, 11:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Philadelphia forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.008, -75.134 (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
- Flooding in Pennsylvania, January 27 to 28, 1996
- Flooding in New Jersey, January 27 to 31, 1996
- Flooding in Maine, January 27 to 30, 1996
- High Wind in New York, January 27, 1996
- Flooding in New York, January 27, 1996
- High Wind in New York, January 27, 1996
- High Wind in Vermont, January 27, 1996
- Flooding in New York, January 27 to 28, 1996
- High Wind in Maine, January 27 to 28, 1996
- Flooding in New York, January 27 to 28, 1996
- Flash Flood in Virginia, January 27, 1996
- Flood in Connecticut, January 27 to 30, 1996
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: 5543259, 5543260, 5543261, 5543262, 5543263.