Thunderstorm Wind in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

An NWS damage survey found that a downburst occurred in Middle Paxton Township on the evening of June 14th, 2026. Damage was observed across a 2 mile wide area and peak winds were estimated to be 100 mph. Damage was first noted just north of Route 22 along the Susquehanna River, with multiple trees uprooted and snapped along Kathryn Avenue. Two trees damaged a fence and a shed as they fell. Over 100 trees were snapped or uprooted as the storm continued to track to the northeast over the next 5 minutes. Three large trees fell onto two cars and a home on Hecks Drive. No injuries were reported as a result of the storm.

A low pressure system stations across central Quebec with a trailing cold front across the Great Lakes allowed for central Pennsylvania to experience residence time within the warm sector throughout much of the day on June 14, 2026. Initial shower activity during the morning and early afternoon hours stayed largely non-hazardous before convection began across western Pennsylvania during the afternoon and evening hours. Clearing skies after the initial showers and thunderstorms allowed for instability to rise above 1000 J/kg across much of the region by the late afternoon hours with effective bulk shear in the 40-50 knot range. Of note, 0-1km shear magnitudes across much of the region trended upwards of 30 knots, which allowed for ample low-level spin within thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. As the cold front began to move eastward across central Pennsylvania, a line of thunderstorms pushed across the region with many kinks in the line exhibiting tornadic circulations. Ahead of the line, some thunderstorms began to form where clear skies allowed for destabilization with some cells exhibiting supercellular characteristics. Wind damage was first observed during the early evening hours, where multiple trees and wires were down across western Pennsylvania. Damage continued as thunderstorms moved further east throughout the evening hours. In terms of cells ahead of the line, wind damage was mostly concentrated across Franklin, York, and Lancaster Counties. Four tornadoes occurred with the storm system on June 14th; an EF-1 near Grand Valley in Warren County, an EF-0 near Homer Township in Potter County, an EF-1 near Pine Glen in Centre County, and an EF-1 near Kirkwood in Lancaster County. A microburst also occurred in York County, where widespread tree damage was observed near Brogue.