Strong westerly winds behind the departing low pressure system dislodged a piece of glass on the 27th floor of the Independence Blue Cross Tower on Market Street in Philadelphia. The wind detached a one foot section of glass from a large panel.
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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 episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
Strong westerly winds behind the departing low pressure system dislodged a piece of glass on the 27th floor of the Independence Blue Cross Tower on Market Street in Philadelphia. The wind detached a one foot section of glass from a large panel. Market Street was closed during the evening commute. The peak wind gust at Philadelphia International Airport was 45 mph.
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 Dec 11, 10:05 AM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 1005 AM EST THU DEC 11 2003 DISC: WILL KEEP THE FLOOD WATCH UP THRU EARLY AFTERNOON WHERE ANOTHER 1-2 HRS OF HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED. SEVERAL FLOOD WARNINGS IN EFFECT ACROSS THE SRN ZONES. OTHERWISE...UPDATED ZONES TI REMOVE RAIN FROM MOST AREAS EXCEPT THE NRN AREA. REMAINDER OF FCST ON SCHED. SEE YA EBERWINE **** NEGATIVELY TILTED SYS CONTINUES TO SHARPEN UP. AT 09Z RAPIDLY DEEPENING LOW PRES LOCATED BTWN BWI AND IAD. NW TO SE ORIENTED COLD FNT CONT MVG TWD NW AND IS APPROACHING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY. CONCENTRATED AREA OF RA/+RA IN ADVANCE OF FNT ACCOMPANIED BY GUSTY WINDS ESP NEAR COASTAL REGIONS...WITH LWR MD ESHORE REGION HITTING 38 MPH. FNT TO MOVE THRU FA +/- 12Z. RAIN COMBINED WITH SNOW MELT HAVE ALREADY NECESSITATED FLW BEING ISSUED N DE...XTRM NE MD AND SE PA. MORE WARNINGS PSBL AS HEAVIEST RAIN OF THIS EVENT MOVES INTO FA FM THE S. WILL KEEP FFA IN EFFECT THRU THE MRNG. WILL DROP DENSE FOG ADV. DENSE FOG PRIMARILY IN ELEVATED...IE IN CLOUDS...REGIONS. NOT MUCH OR NO SNOW LEFT IN FA TO ADD MOISTURE WHEN WINDS LIGHTEN UP A BIT TWRD FROPA. MARINE FCSTR WILL KEEP GALE WRNG HOISTED FOR OCEAN AND BAY. .PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...FLOOD WATCH THIS MRNG ZONES 54/55/60>62/67>71. NJ...FLOOD WATCH THIS MRNG ZONES 1/7>10/12/13/15>19. DE...FLOOD WATCH THIS MRNG ZONE 1. MD...FLOOD WATCH THIS MRNG ZONE 8. MARINE/OCEAN...GALES SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK IS DE. MARINE/DEL BAY...GALES. WOODWORTH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 521 AM EST THU DEC 11 2003 DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055- 060>062-067>071-111019- ATLANTIC NJ-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY NJ-BERKS PA-BUCKS PA-CAMDEN NJ- CAPE MAY NJ-CARBON PA-CAROLINE MD-CECIL MD-CHESTER PA- COASTAL ATLANTIC NJ-COASTAL OCEAN NJ-CUMBERLAND NJ-DELAWARE PA- DELAWARE BEACHES DE-EASTERN MONMOUTH NJ-GLOUCESTER NJ-HUNTERDON NJ- INLAND SUSSEX DE-KENT MD-KENT DE-LEHIGH PA-MERCER NJ-MIDDLESEX NJ- MONROE PA-MONTGOMERY PA-MORRIS NJ-NEW CASTLE DE-NORTHAMPTON PA- NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON NJ-OCEAN NJ-PHILADELPHIA PA-QUEEN ANNES MD- SALEM NJ-SOMERSET NJ-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON NJ-SUSSEX NJ-TALBOT MD- WARREN NJ-WESTERN MONMOUTH NJ- 521 AM EST THU DEC 11 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA...DELAWARE...THE NORTHERN MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE...AND NEW JERSEY EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST COUNTIES. .DAY ONE...TODAY A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS MORNING FOR PARTS OF THE REGION...MAINLY AROUND THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA METROPOLITAN AREA AND THE RARITAN BASIN. PLEASE REFER TO WGUS61 FLOOD WATCH STATEMENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS. A GALE WARNING IS IN EFFECT ALONG THE COAST AND THE DELAWARE BAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FOR THURSDAY THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY...THERE IS A CHANCE FOR A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION NOT REQUESTED. STORM TOTAL AND ANY FLOODING REPORTS GREATLY APPRECIATED. CORRECTED TO ADD DELAWARE BAY TO GALE WARNING AREA. WOODWORTH
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 12 PM EST THU DEC 11 2003 NJZ012>014-020-022>027-111700- ATLANTIC NJ-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY NJ-CAPE MAY NJ- COASTAL ATLANTIC NJ-COASTAL OCEAN NJ-EASTERN MONMOUTH NJ- MIDDLESEX NJ-OCEAN NJ-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON NJ-WESTERN MONMOUTH NJ- 620 AM EST THU DEC 11 2003 ...TIDAL FLOODING THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON... THE STRONG ONSHORE FLOW IS SHIFTING AROUND THE WEST AND WILL BE INCREASING TO 30 TO 40 MPH AT TIMES. HIGH TIDE OCCURRED THIS MORNING BETWEEN 8 AND 9 AM ALONG THE OCEAN FRONT AND BETWEEN 1030 AND 1130 AM IN THE BACK BAYS. RESIDENTS ON THE BAY SIDE OF THE BARRIER ISLANDS ARE LIKELY TO SEE SOME HEAVY WAVE ACTION AND OVERWASH ONCE THE WINDS PICK UP THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THE ROADWAYS ADJACENT TO THE BACK BAYS WILL HAVE STREET FLOODING FOR A COUPLE MORE HOURS...BUT THE WORST IS OVER. EBERWINE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, December 2003
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: 5327545.