Thunderstorm Wind — Lancaster, Pennsylvania

2010-07-25 · near West Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down trees and utility wires on Clover Hill Road in Manor Township. A 53-year-old woman was found dead in her yard on the 2100 block of Clover Hill Road around 1300 EDT. Police suspect that the women left her residence to investigate the storm damage, and was electrocuted by a downed wire.

Wider weather episode

A cold front triggered several broken lines of severe thunderstorms across south-central and southeastern Pennsylvania during the late morning and early afternoon. A few discrete, organized storms developed over the lower Susquehanna Valley. The convective environment was characterized by strong surface heating of a moist low level air mass which resulted in moderate instability ahead of the approaching cold front. In addition, strong westerly wind flow and shear in the middle and upper atmosphere contributed to support organized storm structures that produced numerous reports of damaging winds and isolated large hail. The majority of the severe weather was confined to the lower Susquehanna Valley between 1300 and 1500 EDT.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.0210, -76.3560)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 238434. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.