Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, October 15, 2003

Name: Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, October 15, 2003
Start: 2003-10-15T09:00
End: 2003-10-15T17:00
Location: Pennsylvania

October 15, 2003 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $400,000
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.

A strong westerly flow occurred across the Eastern Shore during the day on the 15th. It was caused by the pressure gradient (difference) between an intensifying low pressure system heading through the Saint Lawrence Valley and a high pressure system building east from the Lower Mississippi Valley. Peak wind gusts were around 50 mph. The strong winds knocked down hundreds of trees and wires throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and over 325,000 homes and businesses lost power in the state. This was an inordinate number of downed trees given the peak wind gusts. It was believed it was caused by the unseasonably wet weather which made it easier for the trees to be knocked down. In addition October was milder than normal to date and left more foliage on the trees than is typical for this time of year. Also, the winds were blowing in nearly an opposite direction to what occurred with Tropical Storm Isabel leaving ones with western exposure vulnerable to the winds this time. Lastly, the strong gusts persisted for a long period of time. The downed trees and wires damaged dozens of homes and scores of vehicles. No injuries though were reported. In Monroe and Carbon Counties, about 9,000 homes and businesses lost power. In Stroud Township (Monroe County) alone there were a dozen calls of downed trees. Main Street in Jim Thorpe (Carbon County) was without power through the afternoon of the 16th. Downed wires caused a couple of brief brush fires in Carbon County. In the Lehigh Valley, about 40,000 Pennsylvania Power and Light customers were without power. About half of the outages were in Allentown and Bethlehem. Damaged vehicles were reported in both cities. In addition, about 7,500 Metropolitan Edison customers lost power in the valley. All power was restored by the evening of the 16th. In Berks County, about 14,000 homes and businesses lost power, about one-third the number from Tropical Storm Isabel. A downed tree damaged a home in Birdsboro. Systemwide more than 130,000 Pennsylvania Power and Light and about 76,000 Metropolitan Edison customers lost power in Pennsylvania. In the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, about 130,000 PECO Energy customers lost power: 50,000 in Bucks County, 40,000 in Montgomery County, 24,000 in Chester County and 15,000 in Delaware County. All power was restored by the afternoon of the 16th. While Bucks County had the most outages, they were mostly restored by the evening of the 15th. In Pottstown in Montgomery County, there were 25 calls of downed trees. Three streets were blocked. Numerous trees were knocked down also in Plymouth Township and Gladwyne (Upper Merion Township). In Chester County, Coatesville, Phoenixville and West Chester were hardest hit by downed trees. One home was damaged by a downed tree in West Chester. In Delaware County, Upper Darby Township was hit the hardest. Throughout the region downed wires caused delays on the SEPTA rail lines. Peak wind gusts included 51 mph in Reading (Berks County) and Lancaster (Lancaster County), 48 mph in Northeast Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley International Airport and the Scranton Regional Airport (Luzerne County), 47 mph at the Philadelphia International Airport and 44 mph in Mount Pocono (Monroe 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 Oct 15, 4:10 AM EST, 4 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 15, 4:10 AM EST, 4 hours 50 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 15, 4:55 AM EST, 4 hours 5 minutes before

DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-
060>062-067>071-151145-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
555 AM EDT WED OCT 15 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

WIND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR INLAND COUNTIES, GALES ARE UP
ALONG THE COAST. WIND GUSTS COULD APPROACH 50 MPH. PLEASE REFER TO
OUR NPWPHI WWUS71 KPHI. MINOR TIDAL FLOODING AT TIMES OF HIGH TIDE
THIS MORNING ALONG WITH INCREASED WAVE ACTION ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE
EASTERN SHORE OF THE CHESAPEAKE. OUR LATEST SPECIAL WEATHER
STATEMENT GOES INTO MORE DETAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

KRUZDLO

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 15, 3:14 AM EST, 5 hours 46 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Oct 15, 4:40 AM EST, 4 hours 20 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Oct 15, 4:40 AM EST, 4 hours 20 minutes before

DEZ002-MDZ008-012-015-019-151430-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
540 AM EDT WED OCT 15 2003

...MINOR TIDAL FLOODING POSSIBLE ON THE EASTERN SHORE THIS
MORNING...

STRONG EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS BROUGHT THE TIDAL DEPARTURES UP TO 2
FEET ABOVE NORMAL IN THE UPPER CHESAPEAKE BAY. THE WINDS HAVE SHIFTED
AND NOW BLOWING FROM THE WEST THIS MORNING. THERE IS A HIGH WIND
ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO
50 MPH.

HIGH TIDE AT TOLCHESTER BEACH OCCURS AT 1041 THIS MORNING WITH A
HEIGHT AROUND 3.0 FT ABOVE MLLW. THIS IS JUST BELOW THE MINOR
TIDAL FLOODING MARK OF 3.5 FT. AT CAMBRIDGE ON THE CHOPTANK RIVER
HIGH TIDE IS AT 729 THIS MORNING WITH AN EXPECTED HEIGHT OF 3.5 FT
ABOVE MLLW OR MINOR TIDAL FLOODING.

THE HIGH TIDE AT KENTS NARROWS OCCURS AT 833 AM.

WITH THE TIDAL DEPARTURES OF 2 FT AND THE STRONG WINDS BLOWING FROM
WEST TO EAST TOWARD THE EASTERN SHORE...MINOR FLOODING IS POSSIBLE
THIS MORNING.

EBERWINE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Berks

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Berks forecast zone
Measured: 44 kt (51 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Bucks

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Bucks forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Strong Wind, Carbon

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Carbon forecast zone
Measured: 42 kt (48 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Chester

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Chester forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Strong Wind, Delaware

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Lehigh

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Lehigh forecast zone
Measured: 42 kt (48 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Monroe

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Measured: 42 kt (48 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Montgomery

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Strong Wind, Northampton

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Northampton forecast zone
Measured: 42 kt (48 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Philadelphia

When: October 15, 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Philadelphia forecast zone
Measured: 42 kt (48 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, October 2003

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5371458, 5371459, 5371460, 5371461, 5371462, 5371463, 5371464, 5371465, 5371466, 5371467.