Name: Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 12, 2002
Start: 2002-08-12T20:30
End: 2002-08-12T20:30
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: 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 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 State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 12, 7:45 PM EST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 7:45 PM EST, 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
845 PM EDT MON AUG 12 2002

GOING FORECAST IN GOOD SHAPE.  LOOKS LIKE WELL FINALLY SEE SOMEWHAT
MORE ACTIVE WEATHER AS MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY RETURN ALONG WITH A
SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY ENTERING THE OHIO VALLEY.  LAYER PWS INCREASE TO
OVER 1.5 PRETTY MUCH STATEWIDE MONDAY AFTERNOON...SO GOING CHANCE
POPS STILL LOOK GOOD AND WILL HOPE FOR SOME HEAVIER DOWNPOURS AS
CENTRAL PA IS QUITE PARCHED AND REALLY NEEDS THE RAIN.  NO UPDATES
THIS EVENING.

DEVOIR

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW...
----------------------------
...WORK ZONES BY 315 PM...

...ZONES BY 345 PM...

...CHANGES...

CURRENT FCST NOT BAD...WILL MAKE MINOR CHANGES.

MAY STILL CALL FOR DRY WEATHER FOR NEXT SUNDAY...WILL SEE
WHAT NCEP HAS TO SAY.

...DISC...

...SHORT TERM...

HIGH PRESSUE...SURFACE AND ALOFT...WILL KEEP WARM...DRY MID SUMMER
WEATHER ACROSS THE REGION TODAY...WITH FEW IF ANY CLDS. JUST A
FEW CI...CU.

FOR LATER TONIGHT INTO MONDAY...AREA OF DISTURB WEATHER OVER THE
OH VLY WILL EDGE INTO W PA...THEN ACROSS THE REST OF THE AREA
LATE MONDAY INTO EARLY TUE. CHC OF A FEW SHOWERS AND STORMS.

CHC OF A FEW MORE SHOWERS AND STORMS LATE WED INTO THU WESTERN
AREAS...ESPECIALLY N AND W AREAS.

TEMPS WILL REMAIN ON THE WARM SIDE...WITH DEWPOINTS SLOWLY COMING
UP A LITTLE EACH DAY. STILL NOT QUITE ADVISORY CRITERIA FOR SUSQ
VLY TUE.

...LONG TERM...

A CHC OF SHOWERS AND STORMS NOW AND THEN FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS.
NO REAL STRONG FRONTS FCST THROUGH NEXT SUNDAY...OR WIDESPREAD
SOAKING RAINS. NOT MUCH EXPECTED NOW ON FRIDAY. SREFS NOW
HINT AT A FEW MORE SHOWERS/STORMS LATE SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY...
INSTEAD OF ANOTHER PERFECT WEEKEND. BUT THIS MAY BE MORE IN W
PA...MORE THAN C PA...TOO FAR OUT TO GET TOO FANCY.

.CTP...NONE.

MARTIN

The radar

The State College radar (KCCX), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clinton

When: August 12, 8:30 PM EST
Where: Clinton County, Lock Haven
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.133, -77.433

Numerous trees were reported down in Lock Haven.

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, August 2002

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: 5311658.