Thunderstorm Wind — Bradford, Pennsylvania

2023-08-12 · near Sayre Blue Swan Arpt, Bradford, Pennsylvania

$10K

Property damage

78 EG

Magnitude

Event narrative

A microburst with maximum winds up to 90 mph hit Athens Township near the NY border by the old Blue Swan Airport. The strong winds knocked down many branches along its path which was to the east southeast through parts of Sayre Borough

and Athens Borough. The strongest damage was on Markham Road where large softwood trees were uprooted. Many other areas along the microburst path saw sporadic trees snapped and uprooted with many branches down. The majority of these trees were softwoods. An outer roof was lifted off of a modular home in Athens. Power was out to many locations.

Wider weather episode

A frontal boundary moved through Northeastern Pennsylvania, supporting multiple thunderstorms. High instability and shear supported isolated severe thunderstorms containing damaging wind gusts, small hail, and a tornado. NWS surveys confirmed a tornado in Luzerne County and a microburst in Bradford County. While most of the damage was downed trees from these events, there was some property damage as well.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.9993, -76.5750)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1121343. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.