4 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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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.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A line of thunderstorms began to intensify over northern and eastern sections of the county late in the morning. One cell reached severe limits just before 12 noon EDT. Several trees and also some power lines were downed in the town of Rome.
The same line of thunderstorms that produced isolated severe weather in eastern Bradford county continued eastward into Wyoming county. Widely scattered reports of wind damage were again associated with the storms in the northwestern corner of the county. Large tree limbs were downed and a few tents sustained minor damage at the county Fairgrounds in Meshoppen close to 12 noon EDT.
A line of thunderstorms which produced isolated wind damage upstream in Bradford and Wyoming counties intensified further as it moved through Luzerne county early in the afternoon. Widespread wind damage occurred as the storms swept eastward through the region. The storm entered western portions of the county just after 12 noon EDT. Many trees were uprooted or otherwise toppled and utility poles were downed in Hunlock Creek, Lehman Township, Nanticoke, and Glen Lyon between 1210 and 1220 pm. The storms then took aim on the Wyoming Valley and inflicted further damage across more densely populated metropolitan areas near Wilkes-Barre. Between 1220 and 1230 pm EDT, strong damaging winds and large hail were experienced by those in northeastern sections of the county. Streets were littered with downed trees and wires, as well as warped traffic signals in Kingston, Hanover, and downtown Wilkes-Barre. In Pittston Township, a large swath of trees was cut down near Pittston Regional High School. At the Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport, wind gusts were officially measured at 74 mph. Also, dime sized hail was observed by control tower personnel. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company estimates that tens of thousands of customers were without power during the height of the storm early in the afternoon on Labor Day.
The same complex of thunderstorms that produced widespread wind damage earlier in the afternoon across the Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area briefly reintensified over southern sections of Pike county. Many trees and power lines were downed in Porter and Lehman townships near route 402 within the Delaware State Forest just after 100 pm EDT. Portions of route 402 were closed for several hours that afternoon until crews were able to clear fallen trees and live wires.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, September 1998
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: 5666709, 5666710, 5666711, 5666712.