Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena - CIG

Storm Data and Unusual Weather PhenomenaTimePath PathNumber ofEstimatedLocal/ Length WidthPersonsDamageLocation DateStandard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of StormPENNSYLVANIA, EastMarch 1998Storm precipitation totals included 3.29 inches in Tobyhanna (Monroe County), 2.90 inches in Mount Pocono (Monroe County),2.79 inches in Long Pond (Monroe County), 2.20 inches in Phoenixville (Chester County), 2.09 inches in Lehighton (CarbonCounty), 2.08 inches in Hamburg (Berks County), 2.05 inches in Easton (Northampton County) and East Stroudsburg (MonroeCounty), 2.00 inches in Green Lane (Montgomery County), 1.93 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 1.91 inches inGlenmoore (Chester County), 1.88 inches in Springtown (Bucks County), 1.44 inches in Valley Forge (Montgomery County),1.37 inches in Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County), 1.34 inches at the Willow Grove NAS, 1.31 inches in Crum Creek (DelawareCounty) and 1.1 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport.Berks County2 S Sinking Spg to 09 1912EST0 00 Thunderstorm WindKutztown1940ESTBerks CountyBlandon 09 1933EST 2 50 0 0 100K 0 Tornado (F1)1937ESTA line of severe thunderstorms moved through Berks County Pennsylvania the evening of March 9th and knocked down tree limbsand power lines from Spring Township northeast through Kutztown. The worst damage occurred when the thunderstorm dropped aweak tornado (F1 on the Fujita Scale) in Blandon located in southern Maiden Creek Township a little after 730 p.m. EST. Thetornado touched down on Pennsylvania State Route 73 (Main Street) in Blandon. It moved northeast nearly along Willow Creek andparallel to U.S. Route 222. Homes along Cornerstone Drive in the Maiden Creek Estates development were nearest the path andhad the most widespread damage. The tornado lifted as it passed over Pleasant Hill Road. More than half of its two mile pathlength was through wooded areas and this reduced the damage that was done. No injuries were reported.Two houses (one on Main Street and one on Pleasant Hill Road) lost sections of their roofs. The house on Pleasant Hill Road alsohad its front door knocked out and its garage crushed by a fallen tree. The tornado tore out an entire section of a second story wallfrom a house on Cornerstone Drive and embedded its siding into the ground and and sides of other homes. About an additional 30houses mainly on the east side of Cornerstone Drive suffered minor to moderate damage as the tornado leveled sheds, tossedplayhouses and swing sets and ripped siding and shingles. Storage sheds were seen bouncing through backyards. Numerous trees,including fruit trees, evergreens and maples were either snapped or uprooted. Traffic signs were ravaged and twisted.PAZ054>055PAZ054>055PAZ060>062About 700 customers throughout the county lost power because of the tornado, severe thunderstorms and lightning strikes. Theywere concentrated in Blandon, Kutztown, Richmond Township and Wyomissing. There were also at least five separate reports ofsmall hail with the line of thunderstorms.Carbon - Monroe18 0100EST0 0Wintry Mix1000ESTLight sleet and freezing rain overspread the sheltered valleys of Carbon and Monroe Counties during the first half of the day on the18th. Precipitation started shortly after midnight as sleet and freezing rain and slowly changed over to plain rain as the morningprogressed. The rain ended by noon across the Poconos. Storm totals were generally under two tenths of an inch. Untreatedroadways were hazardous. A low pressure system in the Mississippi Valley pumped moisture eastward into the Middle AtlanticStates. Unfortunately while it was warm enough for rain above the ground, the cold air near the surface left by a departing highpressure system made precipitation fall as sleet and/or freezing rain.Carbon - Monroe21 0700EST0 0Winter Storm22 0700ESTA winter storm dropped around six inches of snow over the higher terrain of Carbon and Monroe Counties from daybreak on the21st through sunrise on the 22nd. Precipitation started as rain before dawn on the 21st, but as cold air was drawn into the Poconosfrom New York State and Canada, precipitation slowly changed over from rain to sleet and then snow, starting first in the higherelevations. Periods of snow persisted through the night of the 21st until the upper level low guiding the surface low pressure system(near Cape Cod the morning of the 22nd) moved through the region. Accumulations included 6 inches at Indian Mountain Lakes(Carbon County) and 3.5 inches in East Stroudsburg. The low pressure system that caused the heavy snow moved northeast fromNorth Carolina early in the morning on the 21st, to just east of Delaware the evening of the 21st to Cape Cod the morning of the22nd. The upper level low steering the surface system moved through New Jersey during the early morning on the 22nd.Berks - Lehigh - Northampton21 1300EST0 0Wintry Mix22 0800ESTA coastal low pressure system dropped a mixture of sleet and snow across Berks County and the Lehigh Valley from the afternoonof the 21st through sunrise on the 22nd. Precipitation started as rain before dawn on the 21st, but as cold air was drawn into theregion from New York State and Canada, precipitation slowly changed over from rain to sleet in the afternoon and then to snow bythe evening, starting first in the higher elevations. Periods of light snow persisted through the night of the 21st until the upper levellow guiding the surface low pressure system (near Cape Cod the morning of the 22nd) moved through the region. The heaviestprecipitation fell as rain earlier in the day and thus accumulations were on the light side, generally around an inch in the valleys and144 138