Name: Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, August 16, 2001
Start: 2001-08-16T17:40
End: 2001-08-16T19:30
Location: Pennsylvania

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $8,000
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 PBZ wrote it up.

Three separate waves of thunderstorms passed through Brookville during the afternoon and evening hours of the 16th. Strong straight-line winds from these storms downed several trees and power lines across the city.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 2:00 PM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 2:00 PM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
300 PM EDT THU AUG 16 2001

THE LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WHICH MOVED THRU THE SW PA
EARLIER THIS MORNING HAS RAPIDLY MOVED OFF TO THE EAST.  WIND GUSTS
OF 35 TO 40 MPH WERE REPORTED WITH THIS LINE.  HEAVY CLOUDCOVER OFF
TO THE WEST SHOULD LIMIT THE DAYTIME HEATING NEEDED TO FUEL
CONVECTION AND STEEPENING LAPSE RATES IN THE SHORT TERM.  SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL FIRE UP AGAIN LATER THIS EVENING AS THE COLD
FRONT PUSHES INTO THE AREA. UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT IS IN PLACE WITH THE
LEFT REAR JET QUAD AND WITH A STRONG LOW LEVEL JET MOVING IN, GUSTY
WINDS WILL BE A PRIMARY THREAT. HEAVY RAINS WILL ALSO BE PREVALENT
WITH THE PRECIPITABLE WATER RUNNING AROUND 1.50 INCHES. A 5H VORT
MAX AND STRONG OMEGA WILL ALLOW SUFFICIENT LIFT ALONG THE FRONT TO
SUPPORT CONVECTION AS WELL THIS EVENING.

THE NEXT CHANCE OF RAIN LOOKS TO BE SUNDAY, AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE
RIPPLES THRU THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH.  SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
BE LIKELY AGAIN WITH THIS SYSTEM.  OTHERWISE THE WEEK LOOKS GREAT
WITH SEASONABLE TEMPS LOCKING IN ON THE AREA.

PALKO/HRINDA

.PBZ...
MD...NONE.
OH...NONE.
PA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: August 16, 5:40 PM EST
Where: Jefferson County, Brookville
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.167, -79.083

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: August 16, 7:10 PM EST
Where: Jefferson County, Brookville
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.167, -79.083

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: August 16, 7:30 PM EST
Where: Jefferson County, Brookville
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.167, -79.083

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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, August 2001

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: 5265466, 5265467, 5265468.