Pennsylvania, 2002

High Wind in Pennsylvania, February 11, 2002

February 11, 2002 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

For the third time during the first eleven days of February, strong winds followed the passage of a vigorous cold front through Eastern Pennsylvania. Strong winds began around sunrise and persisted throughout the daylight hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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.

For the third time during the first eleven days of February, strong winds followed the passage of a vigorous cold front through Eastern Pennsylvania. Strong winds began around sunrise and persisted throughout the daylight hours. Peak wind gusts averaged between 35 and 50 mph. Weak trees, tree limbs and power lines were knocked down. PECO Energy reported about 17,400 of its customers lost power in and around Philadelphia. Peak wind gusts included 48 mph at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, 47 mph at the Philadelphia International Airport, 45 mph in Doylestown (Bucks County) and Reading (Berks County), 41 mph in Mount Pocono (Monroe County), 40 mph at the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 39 mph in Pottstown (Montgomery County).

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 Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 11, 1:35 AM EST, 5 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 1:35 AM EST, 5 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
135 AM EST MON FEB 11 2002

1ST FRONT HAS MOVED THROUGH THE AREA ENDING THE STEADY RAIN. THE
2ND...STRONGER FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH AROUND 12Z THIS AM. THE
GRADIENT BEHIND THIS FRONT SHOWS BLYR WINDS 30K OR MORE WITH 850
WINDS OF 45K. HOWEVER...UPON CLOSER LOOK AT THE MESOETA
SOUNDINGS...THERE ARE SOME 50K WINDS EMBEDDED BELOW 850...MAINLY
NORTH.

MODELS ALSO SHOW STRONG NVA AND 3HRLY PRES RISES OF 6-7MB INDICATING
GOOD MIXING OF THE WINDS DOWN FROM ALFT. THEREFORE...I WILL ISSUE A
WIND ADVISORY FOR ALL AREAS WITH GUSTS TO 50 NORTH AND 45 CENTRAL
AND SOUTH. WINDS SHOULD MAX OUT THIS AM BUT IT WILL STILL BE QUITE
WINDY THIS AFTN SO I WILL GO FOR THE WIND ADVISORY ALL DAY.

PER PCPN...RAIN SHWERS CHANGE TO SNOW SHOWERS AS THE FRONT MOVES
THROUGH. ALL THE PCPN WAS TO THE NORTH OF THE UPPER VORT MAX MOVING
THROUGH ERN OHIO/WRN PA. THEREFORE...I WILL ONLY HAVE CHC POPS SOUTH
BUT WILL GO TO A CATEGORICAL NORTH EARLY THIS AM. SNOW AMNTS OF 1 TO
2 INCHES PSBL IN THE POCONOS AND NW NJ AS MODERATE SNOW HAS BEEN OBS
WITH THE FRONT AND A SNOW BURST IS PSBL IN THE MTNS.

THEN DRY TNGT THROUGH TUE NIGHT.

TEMPS...DROP THIS MRNG BEHIND THE FRONT THE LEVEL OUT UNTIL LATE
AFTN WHEN THEY WILL DROP AGAIN. GUIDANCE TEMPS GENLY OK.

MARINE...WILL GO GALES ALL AREAS. ALSO...THE AVN GUIDANCE SHOWS NEG
1.9 DEPARTURE FOR ACY. THE NGM IS LESS OF A DEPARTURE. THE AVN IS
PREFERRED SINCE IT IS FCSTG THE SFC WINDS BETTER THAN THE NGM.
THERFORE...WE WILL PUT IN BLOWOUT TIDES IN THE MARINE FCST.

MPO   32  12  39  25 /  60   0   0   0
ABE   36  15  40  28 /  40   0   0   0
RDG   36  15  40  28 /  40   0   0   0
PHL   44  20  45  33 /  20   0   0   0
12N   32  12  39  25 /  60   0   0   0
SMQ   41  18  43  31 /  40   0   0   0
TTN   41  18  43  31 /  40   0   0   0
MIV   46  21  46  33 /  10   0   0   0
ACY   47  25  45  35 /  10   0   0   0
ILG   44  20  45  33 /  20   0   0   0
DOV   46  21  46  33 /  10   0   0   0
GED   46  21  46  33 /  10   0   0   0
ESN   46  21  46  33 /  10   0   0   0

.PHI...
DE...WIND ADVISORY TODAY. DEZ001>003.
MD...WIND ADVISORY TODAY. MDZ008-012-015-019-020.
NJ...WIND ADVISORY TODAY. NJZ001-007>010-012-012-015>023.
PA...WIND ADVISORY TODAY. PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071.
MARINE...GALES DEL BAY AND NJ/DE COASTS.

RNS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 11, 3:40 AM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
DEZ001>004-NJZ012>026-PAZ067>071-ANZ450>455-430-431-112200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - POSSIBLE BLOWOUT TIDES TODAY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
340 AM EST MON FEB 11 2002

...BLOWOUT TIDES ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON...

A STRONG NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PREVAIL LATER THIS MORNING AND THIS
AFTERNOON BEHIND A COLD FRONT WHICH IS SET TO PASS OFFSHORE EARLY
THIS MORNING. GALE FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE NEW JERSEY AND
DELAWARE COASTS AND ON DELAWARE BAY. THESE WINDS...COMBINED WITH THE
ASTRONOMICAL LOW TIDE THIS AFTERNOON...ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE
BLOWOUT TIDE CONDITIONS BETWEEN 1.5 AND 2.0 FEET BELOW MLLW.

THE TIME OF LOW TIDE ALONG THE NEW JERSEY AND DELAWARE ATLANTIC
COASTS IS BETWEEN 100 PM AND 130 PM THIS AFTERNOON. THE TIME OF LOW
TIDE FURTHER UP DELAWARE BAY IS IN THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON.

WINDS WILL DIMINISH EARLY TONIGHT AND TIDES WILL RETURN TO MORE
NORMAL LEVELS.

MARINERS ARE ADVISED TO LEAVE EXTRA LINE FOR THEIR VESSELS TO
ACCOUNT FOR THE GREATER RANGE OF TIDES THIS AFTERNOON...AS WELL AS
WATCH FOR LESSENED DRAFT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/PHI IN SMALL LETTERS.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Berks

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Berks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bucks

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Carbon

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Carbon forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Chester

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Delaware

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lehigh

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Lehigh forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Monroe

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Montgomery

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Northampton

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Northampton forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Philadelphia

When
February 11, 7:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 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: 5282522, 5282523, 5282524, 5282525, 5282526, 5282527, 5282528, 5282529, 5282530, 5282531.