A strong area of low pressure stationed across northern Ontario allowed for a potent cold front to cross central Pennsylvania during the early morning hours of December 19, 2025. A strong line of gusty showers along the front caused multiple instances of measured wind gusts exceeding 58 mph in Clearfield, Dauphin, and Lancaster counties throughout the morning and afternoon hours.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 area of low pressure stationed across northern Ontario allowed for a potent cold front to cross central Pennsylvania during the early morning hours of December 19, 2025. A strong line of gusty showers along the front caused multiple instances of measured wind gusts exceeding 58 mph in Clearfield, Dauphin, and Lancaster counties throughout the morning and afternoon hours. This line of gust showers also produced widespread tree damage in York and Lebanon counties during the afternoon hours, with no injuries reported. In the wake of the cold front, northwesterly flow allowed for a brief period of lake effect snow squalls, impacting portions of Interstate 99 and US Route 22 as the area of low pressure raced northeast.
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 Dec 19, 3:10 AM EST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service State College PA 310 AM EST Fri Dec 19 2025 .SYNOPSIS... * Strong/sharp cold front pushes thru the morning with gusty wind and perhaps a line of damaging thunderstorms in the east before 10 AM. * Very windy with max gusts 50-60 mph Laurels and 40-50 elswhere * Falling temperatures and snow showers in the west into early tonight * A system may bring snow to rain Mon night-Tues = confidence medium to high. * A system may pass thru with mainly rain Christmas Eve and Day = confidence low. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... Temps on the rise in the SE with THV into the m50s at 02Z and even BFD up to 44F. A dry slot is moving in behind the main slug of steadier rain. The 50-70KT LLJet is only 1-2kft above the ridgetops now. The gusts are into the 30s W and starting to pick up in the E. Newest development is the SPC addition of a MRGL risk of damaging winds over the Susq Valley and Poconos early this morning. The threat is maximized along what should be a narrow cold-frontal rainband (NCFRB). Timing is very similar (literally within 30 minutes) between every HREF member and newest HRRR and RAP. The front should ingest better theta-e air and hit the highest temps as it nears the Susq River communities around 12Z and it should be thru Schuylkill and Lancaster Cos by 14Z. That period does hold some upright CAPE/instability and downdraft CAPE, too. Will highlight this possibility in the HWO and have mentioned the risk of gusty winds with the thunder as the line/front passes. That won't be the last burst of deeper convection, though. A second cold front will move through in the early aftn, and CAPE is also worked up then by various meso models. Have held off on mentioning thunder then as these showers should be shallower/shorter than those with the main front. Maxes will be very early in the morning (before sunrise in the W) and just after sunrise in the E. Temps will drop nicely as the CAA is strong. The <32F sfc temps look like they won't arrive until mid morning in Warren and late morning in BFD-FIG- JST. 8H temps will drop 14-18C over a 12hr period between 09-21Z today. The sharp drop could make some icy patches in the late morning over the W, but the strong wind will also try to dry things up at the same time. There could also be peeks of sun breaking thru there, too. Pressure rises of 6-7mb/3hrs for multiple periods after the wind switches to the west. The very strong winds aloft will be mixing down to the sfc during the daylight and first half of the night. The strongest wind will be during the afternoon and evening. Warning and advisory look well placed and timed. SHSN over the west will be relatively brief. The wind will make it very blustery, but accumulations will be minor. The wind will make it tough for the flakes to pile up. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... The brief-ness of SHSN and gusty wind over the NW and Laurels will likely keep the snow from accumulating more than 2". Expect the SN to dry up before midnight. Arrival of sfc high pressure drops the wind and ends LES and provides a fair/seasonable start to the weekend before Christmas. 8H temps rebound very quickly, but the cold air is going to knock temps into the teens over the Alleghenies and 20-25F elsewhere overnight. Temps are able to rise on Sat with most low clouds leaving the NW in the morning and only a thick shield of cirrus over the entire area for the bulk of the day. WAA should help temps up to around 40 in the far S and lower 30s in the NErn mtns. Then, a sharp but very dry cold front drops us back into winter Sat night. The front and a brief period of cross-lake flow could make a dusting of SN in the far NW, but the dryness of the airmass and short period of forcing will make it more likely that it will not accumulate. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... The sharpness of the cold front on Sat night/Sunday might generate enough instability to make SNSQ. But, the timing is not certain at this point. The temps should also be below freezing where the snow could fall. That should cut down the risk of flash freezing unless the sun can work on the roads during daytime Sun. The cold air retreats through early next week, setting up a couple potential overrunning mixed precip events for Mon night/ Tuesday and again on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. The second system looks milder/wetter, staying mainly above freezing for a majority of Central PA - except in the NE. Timing will be critical for any winter wx impacts as max temperatures are forecast to trend above the historical average for late December. These systems should make only minor precip amounts. Neither gains any moisture until they get to the Great Lakes. They are both progged to move quickly on zonal flow aloft. && .AVIATION /07Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Rain has overspread the region and will continue to bring lowered conditions wet runways throughout the rest of tonight and into the morning hours today. Most airfields will experience IFR tonight, with high confidence (>80%) of occurrence. Along with the rain LLWS will be persistent at most airfields until around 12Z this morning. The cold front bringing these conditions will move in early Friday across the west, and mid to late morning further east. Winds will be on the increase along and behind the front. Strongest winds expected at AOO and JST with confidence increasing in 40+ knot gusts during the day as mixing occurs with the mid levels. Most airfields will become dry behind the cold front, but some upslope and lake effect snow showers could persist into Friday evening across the west, mainly at BFD and JST. Prob 30s have been added where confidence is lower in precipitation occurring. Expect IFR to MFVR ceilings to persist into early friday afternoon, before slow improvements will occur area wide. Outlook... Sat-Sun...MVFR-IFR BFD in SCT -SHSN. VFR cigs favored elsewhere. Mon...Trending drier with VFR favored. Snow enters W PA late evening with restrictions possible. Tue...Rain/snow becomes increasingly possible, restrictions possible. && .HYDROLOGY... 1.5-2.0" of rainfall today could result in some minor flooding issues over the east-central mtns particularly in Sullivan County where storm total max rainfall could exceed 2". Snowmelt (up to 1" of SWE) and ice effects could also play a role in contributing to isolated minor flooding issues. && .CLIMATE... Astronomical winter (solstice) begins at 10:03 a.m. on Sunday, December 21st. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 1 AM EST Saturday for PAZ004>006-010>012- 017>019-026>028-035>037-041-042-045-046-049>053-056>059- 063>066. High Wind Warning until 1 AM EST Saturday for PAZ024-025-033- 034. && SYNOPSIS...Dangelo/Steinbugl NEAR TERM...Dangelo SHORT TERM...Dangelo LONG TERM...Dangelo AVIATION...Bowen HYDROLOGY...Steinbugl/Evanego CLIMATE...Steinbugl
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service State College PA 316 AM EST Fri Dec 19 2025 PAZ005-006-010>012-017>019-026-027-035>037-041-042-045-046-200830- McKean-Potter-Elk-Cameron-Northern Clinton-Clearfield- Northern Centre-Southern Centre-Huntingdon-Mifflin-Fulton-Franklin- Tioga-Northern Lycoming-Sullivan-Southern Clinton-Southern Lycoming- 316 AM EST Fri Dec 19 2025 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... 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. Wind Advisory. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. PAZ025-034-200830- Blair-Bedford- 316 AM EST Fri Dec 19 2025 ...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... 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...Saturday through Thursday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. PAZ004-200830- Warren- 316 AM EST Fri Dec 19 2025 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... 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. Wind Advisory. A coating to as much as 3" of snow is expected later this morning into early tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. PAZ024-033-200830- Cambria-Somerset- 316 AM EST Fri Dec 19 2025 ...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... 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...Saturday through Thursday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. PAZ028-049>053-056>059-063>066-200830- Juniata-Union-Snyder-Montour-Northumberland-Columbia-Perry-Dauphin- Schuylkill-Lebanon-Cumberland-Adams-York-Lancaster- 316 AM EST Fri Dec 19 2025 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST SATURDAY... 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. Wind Advisory. A cold front is expected to make a narrow line of thunderstorms as it moves through this morning and could make damaging wind gusts. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather.
The State College radar (KCCX), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:01 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 winter weather, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A line of gusty showers produced a 59 mph wind gust at the Clearfield-Lawrence Township Airport.
A line of gusty showers producing wind gusts estimated at 60 mph knocked a tree down onto a house in Seven Valleys. This line of showers also produced widespread damage to power lines across York County. No injuries were reported.
A line of gusty showers produced a 67 mph wind gust at Harrisburg International Airport.
A line of showers producing wind gusts estimated at 60 mph knocked down trees and power lines across Lebanon County.
A line of gusty showers produced a 62 mph wind gust at Lancaster Airport.
Wind gusts between 40 and 50 mph throughout the afternoon of December 19 knocked down several trees and power lines across Dauphin County.
SNOW SQUALL. The PennDOT RWIS station on Route 22 near Cresson observed visibility below one quarter of a mile as a snow squall moved through.
SNOW SQUALL. A snow squall impacted Southern Centre County early in the evening on December 19, 2025. A multi vehicle crash occurred on the southbound side of Interstate 99 near exit 61. Webcams showed heavy snow falling and accumulating on the roadway.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, December 2025
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: 1302613, 1303003, 1302615, 1304574, 1302616, 1304575, 1304760, 1304761.