Thunderstorm Wind — Clearfield, Pennsylvania

2025-03-16 · near Oshanter, Clearfield, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

An NWS Storm Survey confirmed that a downburst occurred along Haag Hill Road northeast of Olanta in Clearfield County during the afternoon of March 16, 2025. Within this swath, approximately 25-30 trees were either snapped or uprooted in this south-to-north oriented ravine. The trees that fell on the west slope of the ravine were generally oriented towards the north, while trees that fell on the east slope of the ravine were predominantly oriented to the northeast. There were no man-made structures in the path of this downburst, with a residence just east of the ravine appearing to have no damage.

Wider weather episode

A cold front west of central Pennsylvania slowly began to drift eastward during the morning hours and throughout the day on March 16, 2025 allowing ample lift in an environment with sufficient shear and instability to form a quasi-linear convective system across western Pennsylvania. This QLCS continued moving into a more favorable environment across central Pennsylvania, with increased instability from a dry slot coupled with a favorable entrance region of an upper-level jet maximum to produce enhanced shear. This allowed for the QLCS to strengthen across central Pennsylvania and caused extensive damage across west-central Pennsylvania with ample low-level shear spawning two tornadoes in Clinton and Elk counties. Farther east, a less favorable environment was in place with more stable air and lower shear; however, the forward momentum of the QLCS allowed for further damage across northeastern Pennsylvania. Later in the evening, thunderstorms began to form south of central Pennsylvania and gradually drifted northeastward with upper-level support. Strong-to-severe thunderstorms were present along the Mason-Dixon line with a severe thunderstorm producing quarter and ping pong-sized hail in York County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.9236, -78.4939)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1238431. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.