High winds associated with a sharp frontal passage and strong pressure rises produced minor damage across portions of south-central Pennsylvania. Measured peak wind gusts over this area were between 50 and 60 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
High winds associated with a sharp frontal passage and strong pressure rises produced minor damage across portions of south-central Pennsylvania. Measured peak wind gusts over this area were between 50 and 60 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 State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 5:21 PM EST, 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 521 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 .SYNOPSIS... STRONG WINDS WILL PUSH ACROSS THE REGION BEHIND AN OCCLUDED FRONT CROSSING THE REGION THIS EVENING. COLDER AIR WILL SURGE INTO THE REGION FROM WEST TO EAST BEHIND THE COLD FRONT THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE. SEASONABLY COLD AND WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY WITH LAKE EFFECT SNOWS DOWNWIND OF LAKE ERIE AND OVER THE WESTERN HIGH TERRAIN. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN TO THE AREA ON SUNDAY BEFORE YIELDING TO A FRONTAL SYSTEM LIFTING THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES INTO SOUTHEASTERN CANADA ON MONDAY. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/... CENTER OF LOW PRESSURE LIFTING NE ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF LK ONTARIO THIS EVENING...WHILE TRAILING OCCLUDED FRONT SWEEPS THRU CENTRAL PA. AT 22Z OCCLUDED FRONT WAS PUSHING INTO THE CENTRAL MTNS...ACCOMPANIED BY A SHARP INCREASE IN WINDS. UPSTREAM OBS AND MDL SOUNDINGS SUPPORT GUSTS IN THE 40-50KT RANGE THIS EVENING ALONG AND IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING FRONTAL PASSAGE. A QUICK RISE IN TEMPS ALSO EXPECTED WITH ARRIVAL OF FRONT EAST OF THE MTNS...AS LOW LVL COOL AIR IS SCOURED OUT. THE LOWER SUSQ VALLEY...WHERE CURRENT READING IN THE L40S...SHOULD RISE TO AT LEAST 50F THIS EVENING. LATER TONIGHT THE COLDER AIR TRULY ARRIVES AND LAKE EFFECT SNOW AND UPSLOPE SNOW DEVELOP OVER THE LAKE BELT AND LAURELS. LOWS OVER THE NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS AND LAURELS SHOULD REACH THE MID TO UPPER 20S...WHILE LOWS REMAINS SLIGHT ABOVE FREEZING OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND LOWER SUSQ RIVER VALLEY. GUSTY WINDS WILL PERSIST OVERNIGHT WITH IMPRESSIVE SUBSIDENCE CONTINUING. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH 6 PM SATURDAY/... LAKE EFFECT AND UPSLOPE SNOWS PERSIST INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHILE THE REMAINDER OF CENTRAL PA REMAINS BRISK AND MUCH COLDER WITH PARTIAL CLEARING. UNDER CONTINUING COLD ADVECTION...HIGHS WON'T STRAY MUCH FROM THEIR LOWS OVER THE NORTHWEST...WITH LOWER TO MIDDLE 30S ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL PA...AND LOWER 40S ACROSS THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... TROUGH AXIS WILL BE LIFTING TO THE NE BY SAT NIGHT WITH FLATTENING RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN LOWERING THE INVERSION. ANY LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS IN THE WESTERN HIGH TERRAIN WILL END EARLY SAT EVE WITH SKIES CLEARING AS THE NIGHT PROGRESSES. THIS WILL BRING THE COLDEST NIGHT OF THE WEEK WITH LOWS WELL INTO THE TEENS IN THE N AND W...AND LOWER TO MID 20S ELSEWHERE. A FEW LOCATIONS ACROSS THE NRN MTNS WITH SNOW COVER COULD DIP INTO THE HIGH SINGLE DIGITS TWD 12Z SUNDAY. MILD ZONAL FLOW RETURNS FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK...AS ONE PACIFIC SHORTWAVE RAPIDLY PASSES TO OUR NORTH LATE MONDAY - BRINGING JUST SOME PERIODS OF MAINLY MID AND HIGH CLOUDS...BUT PRODUCING LITTLE OR NO PRECIP AND KEEPING IT BREEZY. ANOTHER MORE SIGNIFICANT SYSTEM LIKELY IMPACTS THE REGION FOR WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. SFC LOW TRACKS THRU THE UPPER MIDWEST/UPPER GLAKES REGION WITH BLOCKING HIGH PRES OVR NEW ENGLAND. THIS SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE IT PICKS UP A PLUME OF MOISTURE FROM THE GULF...WHICH SURGES TOWARD THE MID ATLANTIC REGION ON WED...BRINGING POTENTIAL FOR A STEADIER RAIN ON LEAP DAY - THOUGH NORTHERN AREAS COULD SEE SOME MINOR AMTS OF SNOW/MIXED PRECIP ACROSS MAINLY WED INTO THU. HOWEVER...OVERALL THE AIRMASS AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM APPEARS QUITE MILD...WITH 1000-500 MB THICKNESSES IN THE 5500-5560M RANGE OVER THE NRN HALF OF THE COMMONWEALTH. PRECIP TAPERS OFF ON THU AS DRY SLOT NOSES IN AHEAD OF SOME COOLER AIR. WED/THU ALSO BRING GUSTY WEST WINDS IN FAST FLOW. AND MAINLY MTN SNOW SHOWERS IN ITS WAKE FOR LATE NEXT WEEK. ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM POSSIBLE HEADING TOWARD NEXT WEEKEND...THOUGH TEMPS REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL. && .AVIATION /22Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO 21Z TAFS. TEMPS SLOW TO WARM TODAY...AND FRONT SLOWER THAN EXPECTED. EARLIER DISCUSSION BELOW. PRIMARY SFC LOW LIFTING NWD THRU THE LWR GRT LKS...WHILE SECONDARY LOW DEVELOPS IN THE LEE OF THE APPLCHNS AND TRACKS EASTWARD. GUSTY SFC WNDS ACROSS RTES LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH GUSTS AOA 40 KTS THROUGH LATE EVENING. SCT TO NMRS SHOWERS WITH PERHAPS A RUMBLE OF THUNDER OVR SRN SXNS. THE STRONG DOWNSLOPE FLOW SHOULD YIELD MVFR TO VFR CIGS E OF THE MTNS OVERNIGHT. IFR CONDS WILL DEVELOP OVR THE WESTERN HIGH TERRAIN AIRFIELDS BFD- JST IN FQNT SNOW SHOWERS AND BLOWING SNOW. OUTLOOK... SAT...WINDY. IFR/SHSN WRN SXNS. SUN...MVFR BCMG VFR WRN SXNS. NO SIG WX. MON...VFR. SCHC OF MVFR -SHRA NRN TERMINALS. TUE...VFR TO MVFR WITH -RA POSS LATE OVR WRN TERMINALS. WED...MVFR AND IFR CONDITIONS...AND WINDY...WITH ANOTHER STRONG COLD FRONT. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST SATURDAY FOR PAZ012-018-019- 026>028-035>037-041-042-045-046-049>053-056>059-063>066. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY FOR PAZ004>006-010- 011-017-024-025-033-034. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM EST SATURDAY FOR PAZ024-033. WIND ADVISORY FROM 1 AM TO 7 AM EST SATURDAY FOR PAZ024-025- 033-034. LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EST SATURDAY FOR PAZ004- 005. && SYNOPSIS...DEVOIR/LAMBERT NEAR TERM...DEVOIR/FITZGERALD SHORT TERM...DEVOIR/LAMBERT/STEINBUGL LONG TERM...LAMBERT/RXR AVIATION...DEVOIR/MARTIN/STEINBUGL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 1253 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 PAZ024-033-251800- CAMBRIA-SOMERSET- 1253 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM EST SATURDAY... ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 7 AM EST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON 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. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. WIND ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. WIND ADVISORY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. PAZ006-010-011-017-251800- POTTER-ELK-CAMERON-CLEARFIELD- 1253 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. PAZ028-037-041-042-046-049>053-056>059-063>066-251800- JUNIATA-TIOGA-NORTHERN LYCOMING-SULLIVAN-SOUTHERN LYCOMING-UNION- SNYDER-MONTOUR-NORTHUMBERLAND-COLUMBIA-PERRY-DAUPHIN-SCHUYLKILL- LEBANON-CUMBERLAND-ADAMS-YORK-LANCASTER- 1253 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 AM EST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WIND ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WIND ADVISORY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. PAZ025-034-251800- BLAIR-BEDFORD- 1253 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 7 AM EST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON 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. WIND ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WIND ADVISORY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. PAZ012-018-019-026-027-035-036-045-251800- NORTHERN CLINTON-NORTHERN CENTRE-SOUTHERN CENTRE-HUNTINGDON-MIFFLIN- FULTON-FRANKLIN-SOUTHERN CLINTON- 1253 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WIND ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WIND ADVISORY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. PAZ004-005-251800- WARREN-MCKEAN- 1253 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... ...LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM EST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON 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. LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Peak wind gusts between 45 and 55 mph were recorded with higher gusts on the ridge tops.
Peak wind gusts between 45 and 55 mph were recorded with higher gusts on the ridge tops.
Peak wind gusts between 45 and 55 mph were recorded with higher gusts on the ridge tops.
Peak wind gusts between 45 and 55 mph were recorded with higher gusts on the ridge tops.
A strong wind gust around 50 mph blew-off part of a roof on a building in Lititz Borough.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 2012
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: 360503, 360504, 360505, 360506, 360502.