High Wind — Southern Wayne, Pennsylvania

2012-10-29 to 2012-10-30 · Southern Wayne, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

High winds developed during the early afternoon hours on Monday 29th and lasted into early morning hours on Tuesday the 30th from Hurricane Sandy. The high winds knocked downed numerous trees and power lines county-wide. Many of the trees were blocking roads. Peak sustained winds were estimated between 30 and 40 mph with peak wind gusts estimated at 70 mph mainly over the higher terrain areas. During the height of the storm late in the evening, there were an estimated 24,000 customers without power. It took up to a week for power to be fully restored across the southern half of the county. Much less wind damage was reported in the northern part of Wayne County.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Sandy brought high winds and locally heavy rains to northeast Pennsylvania beginning Monday October 29th during the afternoon and continuing until Tuesday morning the 30th. The winds increased during the day Monday and peaked during the evening hours in most parts of northeast Pennsylvania. The winds died down gradually after midnight Tuesday. Peak sustained winds generally ranged between 30 and 40 mph with frequent gusts between 50 and 60 mph. Hardest hit was the higher terrain areas, especially the Poconos. Peak gusts were between 60 and 70 mph in the Poconos and other higher mountains of northeast Pennsylvania. The storm claimed one life in northeast Pennsylvania when the high winds killed an eight year old child when a tree was blown down on him in Susquehanna County. The winds knocked down many trees and power lines leaving an estimated 110,000 people without power during the height of the storm Monday night. Pike County and the southern half of Wayne County were hardest hit with almost 60,000 without power. In many of the rural areas, power was not fully restored for several days. In addition to the high winds, rain was locally heavy rain and generally caused minor flood problems. The Mehoopany Creek in Wyoming County spilled its banks and flooded State Route 3001 in Forkston, PA cutting off 15 homes as 15 people were evacuated from this area by the National Guard. Otherwise, no major flooding was reported from this storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 411593. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.