Damaging Wind and High Wind in Pennsylvania, December 17, 2000

An unseasonably warm air mass and an intense low pressure system and cold front set the stage for an extremely windy day across Eastern Pennsylvania on December 17th. Gusty southerly winds buffeted the region during the first half of the day. Thunderstorms embedded within bands of heavy precipitation exacerbated the wind, especially in Chester County. As the cold front passed through the region during the afternoon of the 17th, the strong southerly winds were replaced by equally strong westerly winds into the evening. The difference was there were no thunderstorms to mix down the stronger winds. Most of the peak wind gusts occurred during the morning and were between 40 and 55 mph. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down in Berks County, particularly in Saint Lawrence Borough and the Reiffton area of Exeter Township. About 2,000 homes and businesses lost power. In Chester County, numerous trees and wires were knocked down also with about 10,000 PECO Energy customers losing power. Elsewhere across Eastern Pennsylvania, the strong winds knocked down weakened trees and tree limbs and power lines that were in their way of the ground. In Lehigh County, U.S. Route 222 was closed in Breinigsville (Upper Macungie Township) because of downed poles. The combination of wind and lightning caused about 6.000 GPU Energy customers to lose power in Berks County and the Lehigh Valley and 47,900 PECO Energy customers to lose power in and around Philadelphia.Reported peak wind gusts included 57 mph in Telford (Bucks County), 55 mph in Kimberton (Chester County), 46 mph at the Philadelphia International Airport, 41 mph at Pottstown (Montgomery County) Airport and the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 40 mph at Reading (Berks County) Airport. Record breaking high temperatures occurred at both the Philadelphia (65 degrees) and Lehigh Valley (63 degrees) International Airports.