Name: Hail in Pennsylvania, July 18, 2006
Start: 2006-07-18T17:05
End: 2006-07-18T17:14
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 happened

The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.

A severe thunderstorm dropped a large swath of large hail across southern Northampton County from Bethlehem Township east through Palmer Township, Forks Township and the city of Easton. Penny to half dollar size hail fell. The hail lasted up to 10 minutes in Palmer Township. The largest reported hail was in Forks Township (half dollar size).

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 Jul 18, 2:10 PM EST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 2:10 PM EST, 2 hours 55 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 18, 4:05 AM EST, 13 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
505 AM EDT TUE JUL 18 2006

ANZ430-431-450>455-DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-
007>010-012>024-026-027-PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071-191100-
DELAWARE BAY WATERS NORTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE-
DELAWARE BAY WATERS SOUTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE-
COASTAL WATERS FROM SANDY HOOK TO MANASQUAN INLET NJ OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM MANASQUAN INLET TO LITTLE EGG INLET NJ OUT
20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM LITTLE EGG INLET TO GREAT EGG INLET NJ OUT
20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM GREAT EGG INLET TO CAPE MAY NJ OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE MAY NJ TO CAPE HENLOPEN DE OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE HENLOPEN TO FENWICK ISLAND DE OUT 20 NM-
NEW CASTLE-KENT DE-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-CECIL-KENT MD-
QUEEN ANNES-TALBOT-CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-
SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX-WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-
GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN-NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-
ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL OCEAN-
SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-NORTHAMPTON-
CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA-
505 AM EDT TUE JUL 18 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA, NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE AND NORTHEASTERN MARYLAND.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNINGS AND HEAT ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR
TODAY FOR MUCH OF THE REGION. PLEASE REFER TO FORECASTS AND
STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS.

ALSO, THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM LATE
TODAY INTO TONIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA AND IN
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW JERSEY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BECOME NECESSARY.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 18, 4:27 PM EST, 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
527 PM EDT TUE JUL 18 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0519 PM     TSTM WND DMG     HAMBURG                 40.56N 75.98W
07/18/2006                   BERKS              PA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            POWER OUTAGE REPORTED AT THE HAMBURG STATE POLICE
            STATION.

0520 PM     HAIL             4 NE HAMBURG            40.60N 75.93W
07/18/2006  M0.75 INCH       BERKS              PA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PENNY SIZED HAIL REPORTED IN ALBANY TOWNSHIP.

&&

GORSE

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:05 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Northampton

When: July 18, 5:05 PM EST to 5:14 PM EST
Where: Northampton County, Bethlehem
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.633, -75.383

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, July 2006

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: 5522739.