A strong pressure gradient between a deep low pressure system over the Canadian Maritimes and sprawling Great Lakes high pressure combined to produce damaging non-thunderstorm wind gusts. The peak wind gusts were between 50 and 60 mph in Lancaster and York Counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 CTP wrote it up.
A strong pressure gradient between a deep low pressure system over the Canadian Maritimes and sprawling Great Lakes high pressure combined to produce damaging non-thunderstorm wind gusts. The peak wind gusts were between 50 and 60 mph in Lancaster and York Counties.
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 Feb 19, 7:17 AM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 717 AM EST SAT FEB 19 2011 .SYNOPSIS... LOW PRESSURE PASSING NORTH OF PENNSYLVANIA WILL PRODUCE HIGH WINDS ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHING FROM THE MIDWEST WILL TRACK THROUGH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA MONDAY MORNING. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL PASS SOUTH OF PENNSYLVANIA MONDAY NIGHT. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... AS OF 10Z THE HIGHEST OBSERVED WIND GUSTS ARE ALONG THE NY BORDER...WHERE ELZ AND ELM REPORTING PK WINDS BTWN 45-50KTS. THIS AREA IS DIRECTLY UNDER BAND OF DRYING IN WATER VAPOR IMAGERY...INDICATIVE OF STRONG SUBSIDENCE AND GREATEST DOWNWARD MOMENTUM TRANSFER. MDL PRES GRADIENT OF 2 POTENTIAL VORTICITY UNITS SUGGESTS THIS BAND OF MAXIMUM SUBSIDENCE PUSHES SOUTH TODAY...SHIFTING THE FOCUS FOR THE HIGHEST GUSTS TO SOUTHERN PA. LATEST BUFKIT SOUNDING DATA SUGGESTS THAT MUCH OF THE REGION WILL EXPERIENCE GUSTS IN THE 45-50KT RANGE TODAY. IR IMAGERY SHOWING LAKE EFFECT STREAMERS OVERSPREADING THE N MTNS EARLY THIS MORNING. VEERING FLOW IN THE BLYR WILL CAUSE LAKE EFFECT CLOUDINESS/-SHSN TO SPREAD SOUTHWARD ALONG THE ALLEGHENIES TODAY. HOWEVER...DRYNESS OF UPSTREAM AIR MASS WILL RESULT IN ONLY LGT ACCUMS /SATL DERIVED PWATS ACROSS THE GRT LKS RANGING BTWN 30-40 PCT OF NORMAL/. MDL QPF SUGGESTS ACCUMS ACROSS THE NW MTNS WILL BE LESS THAN AN INCH TODAY. MAX TEMPS IN THE MID 20S ACROSS THE NW MTNS...COMBINED WITH THE WIND...WILL YIELD WIND CHILLS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. FURTHER SE...ENS MEAN 850 TEMPS ARE SUPPORTIVE OF HIGHS IN THE M40S ACROSS THE LOWER SUSQ...WHERE ABUNDANT SUNSHINE IS EXPECTED. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH 6 PM SUNDAY/... DIMINISHING WINDS EXPECTED TONIGHT AS A NORTH/SOUTH RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE OHIO VALLEY. MIN TEMPS IN THE LOWER TEENS NORTH...TO LOWER 20S IN THE SUSQ VALLEY WILL BE NEAR TO SVRL DEG F BELOW NORMAL. FOCUS ON SUNDAY WILL SHIFT TOWARD SHORTWAVE APPROACHING FROM THE MIDWEST. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE SHEARING OUT AS IT WORKS INTO CONFLUENT ZONE ALOFT OVR PA. HOWEVER...BULK OF MDL DATA SUGGEST WAA AHEAD OF SFC LOW WILL SPREAD SNOW OR A WINTRY MIX INTO WESTERN PA BY SUNDAY EVENING. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... BULK OF MDL GUIDANCE TRACKS WEAK SFC LOW ACROSS CENTRAL PA SUN NIGHT...SUGGESTING THE STEADIEST/HEAVIEST PRECIP WILL FALL ACROSS NORTHERN PA. ENOUGH COLD AIR WILL LIKELY BE ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE AREA FOR AN INITIAL PERIOD OF SNOW. HOWEVER...GEFS 850 TEMPS SUGGEST A CHANGEOVER TO MIXED PRECIP WILL OCCUR ALL THE WAY TO THE NY BORDER SUN NITE...KEEPING SNOW ACCUMS ON THE LIGHT SIDE. RISING TEMPS EXPECTED SUN NITE...WITH PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN PA POSSIBLY BREAKING INTO THE WARM SECTOR BY MON MORNING. OPER MDL DATA AND ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ALL PAINTING A SIMILAR PICTURE MONDAY. FIRST WAVE OF LO PRES PASSING EAST OF PA SHOULD RESULT IN A LULL IN THE ACTIVITY WITH MORNING -SHRA GIVING WAY TO COLD ADVECTION BEHIND TRAILING COLD FRONT. NEXT WAVE OF LO PRES WILL PASS SOUTH OF PA MON NITE...BRINGING A CHC FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW ACROSS SOUTHERN PA. LATEST GEFS AND SREF MEAN QPF SUGGEST ONLY LIGHT ACCUMS ARE LIKELY. HOWEVER...OPER EC/CMC/NAM ALL INDICATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A MORE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ACROSS THE S TIER COUNTIES. HIGH CONFIDENCE FOR A PERIOD OF DRY/SEASONABLE WX DURING MID WEEK...WHEN SFC HIGH PRES BUILDS OVR THE STATE. HOWEVER...DIVERGING MDL SOLUTIONS RESULTING IN A LOW CONFIDENCE FCST BY LATE NEXT WEEK. BROAD SW FLOW ALOFT WOULD SUGGEST NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS THU/FRI. GEFS DATA TRACKING A WEAK SHORTWAVE WEST OF PA...POTENTIALLY BRINGING RAIN/SNOW SHWRS TO CENTRAL PA BY LATE WEEK. && .AVIATION /12Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... STRONG WESTERLY WINDS CONTINUE TO BE THE DOMINANT FEATURE ACROSS CENTRAL PA. SURFACE WINDS WILL GENERALLY AVERAGE BETWEEN 20-30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50-60 MPH TODAY BEFORE GRADUALLY DIMINISHING FROM WEST TO EAST TONIGHT. KEPT MENTION OF LLWS SHEAR IN FOR ALL TAF LOCATIONS AS WINDS AOA 2000 FT REMAIN NEAR 50 KTS. THESE WILL LIGHTEN JUST A BIT TODAY BUT INCREASE BACK TO NEAR 50 KTS AGAIN FOR THIS EVENING. CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN VFR IN ALL BUT KBFD...WHERE MVFR CIGS WILL SLIDE IN THIS MORNING ALONG WITH SCT LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS. MVFR STRATOCU SHOULD AGAIN DEVELOP FOR THE NW TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE /AND SUBSIDENCE INVERSION/ BUILDS IN FROM THE NW. OUTLOOK... SUN...PM SNOW OR MIXED PRECIPITATION LIKELY. MON/TUE...IFR TO MVFR CIGS/VSBYS...WITH A FEW PERIODS OF SNOW/MIXED PRECIP/ OR RAIN POSSIBLE. WED...NO SIG WX EXPECTED. && .FIRE WEATHER... WITH REGARD TO FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS /STRONG WINDS AND LOW RHS/ OVER SE PA FOR SAT WE SPOKE WITH PA BUREAU OF FORESTRY FW CONTACT ON FRIDAY. PA BOF REPORTS THAT GROUND CONDS ARE PRETTY SOGGY AND IT WOULD TAKE AT LEAST SEVERAL DAYS FOR FINE FUELS TO DRY OUT. SO WHILE LATEST 10HR FUEL MAP /VALID 2-17/ SHOWS SOME AREAS OVER SRN PA BELOW 15%...IT IS...IN THEIR OPINION AND OURS...NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TRUE FUEL MOISTURE CONDITIONS. GIVEN THE FCST STRONG WINDS AND LOSS OF SNOW COVER...THERE COULD BE SOME FIRES...BUT BOF IS NOT EXPECTING ANY SIGNIFICANT ISSUES. THEY HAVE NOT HAD ANY FIRES REPORTED IN THESE TWO WARM DAYS. THUS...WE WILL NOT BE ISSUING A FIRE WX WATCH FOR TODAY AND DO NOT EXPECT TO ISSUE A RED FLAG WARNING EVEN IF WIND AND RH CRITERIA ARE MET...UNLESS WE HEAR BACK FROM BOF THAT FUEL MOISTURE CONDITIONS HAVE CHANGED. .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WATCH FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING FOR PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046- 049>053-056>059-063>066. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 9 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR PAZ004>006- 010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066. && SYNOPSIS...FITZGERALD NEAR TERM...FITZGERALD SHORT TERM...FITZGERALD LONG TERM...FITZGERALD/GARTNER AVIATION...RXR FIRE WEATHER...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 610 AM EST SAT FEB 19 2011 PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-201115- WARREN-MCKEAN-POTTER-ELK-CAMERON-NORTHERN CLINTON-CLEARFIELD- NORTHERN CENTRE-SOUTHERN CENTRE-CAMBRIA-BLAIR-HUNTINGDON-MIFFLIN- JUNIATA-SOMERSET-BEDFORD-FULTON-FRANKLIN-TIOGA-NORTHERN LYCOMING- SULLIVAN-SOUTHERN CLINTON-SOUTHERN LYCOMING-UNION-SNYDER-MONTOUR- NORTHUMBERLAND-COLUMBIA-PERRY-DAUPHIN-SCHUYLKILL-LEBANON-CUMBERLAND- ADAMS-YORK-LANCASTER- 610 AM EST SAT FEB 19 2011 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EST THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. HIGH WIND WARNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. A STORM SYSTEM TRACKING SOUTH OF PENNSYLVANIA COULD POTENTIALLY PRODUCE SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS LATE MONDAY INTO EARLY TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Elizabethtown mesonet station recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
Spotters in York reported peak wind gusts estimated near 60 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 2011
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: 276168, 276169.