Thunderstorm Wind, Lehigh
- When
- May 11, 3:10 PM EST to 3:15 PM EST
- Where
- Lehigh County, Southeast Half
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 40.570, -75.470
Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, May 11, 1996
Severe thunderstorms caused scattered pockets of wind damage southeast of a line from Breinigsville to Hokendauqua. A 54-year-old woman was critically injured when a tree fell on her vehicle on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Salisbury Township.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- 1
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
Severe thunderstorms caused scattered pockets of wind damage southeast of a line from Breinigsville to Hokendauqua. A 54-year-old woman was critically injured when a tree fell on her vehicle on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Salisbury Township. In South Whitehall Township, downed trees blocked six roads. Trees damaged a house in Hokendauqua and took down a fence in Wescosville. About 49,000 Pennsylvania Power and Light Customers lost power during the storm in their 29 county service area that includes parts of the Lehigh Valley. As of 9 p.m. EDT that evening, 27,000 still were without power. Power was not completely restored until Monday the 13th.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:10 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, May 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 11, 1996
- Hail in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 11, 1996
- Flood in Ohio, May 11 to 13, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 11, 1996
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, May 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: 5560016.