Strong Wind — Berks, Pennsylvania
2008-02-10 · Berks, Pennsylvania
Wider weather episode
An arctic front swept across Pennsylvania during the morning hours of the 10th. Northwesterly winds increased in its wake and became rather gusty during the afternoon and evening hours. The strongest wind gusts averaged around 50 mph. The winds knocked down weak trees, weak tree limbs and power lines throughout the eastern part of the state that resulted in power outages. The winds also caused one death in Berks County.
In Berks County, the strong winds were blamed for an accident in Longswamp Township that killed a 48-year old Kutztown man and critically injured his wife. The strong winds blew a large tree onto their sport utility vehicle. About 5,600 utility customers in the county lost power. Municipalities losing power included Birdsboro, Boyertown, Douglassville, Fredricksburg and Reading. The Berks County Communications Center reported widespread problems with downed trees pulling down power lines and blocking roads in nearly every corner of the county. In Wyomissing, the wind blew open the doors of several school buses parked near the Junior-Senior high school off Cambridge Avenue, which activated the vehicles' blinking lights and stop signs. At about 7:00 PM EST, a tree fell onto wires on Linda Lane in Whitfield and caused at least two transformers to explode. In Northampton County gusty winds downed a tree on the 2100 block of Main Street in Bethlehem, which blocked the road and tore down power lines.
In North Philadelphia, debris from a construction site at Temple University's Children's Hospital blew around in the street. Police closed Broad Street from Erie to Ontario to avoid injuries. In the Philadelphia northwest suburbs PECO Energy reported about 31,000 customers had experienced sustained interruptions with 8,000 outages reported in Chester County and 6,000 in Montgomery County. By 6:00 PM EST, the service-wide figure dropped to 18,000. Less than 500 Met-Ed customers in Pottstown (Montgomery County) were without power. The strong winds also downed trees and power lines throughout Chester County. Tree limbs fell onto a garage and backyard in the 600 block of Price Street in West Chester (Chester County). The branches caused damage to the garage and a Mini Cooper which was parked in the driveway. During the morning commute of February 11th, motorists dodged downed tree branches around the region.
Peak wind gusts included 52 mph in London Grove (Chester County) and the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, 51 mph at the Philadelphia International Airport, 49 mph in Reading (Berks County), 48 mph in West Grove (Chester County) and in Mount Pocono (Monroe County), 46 mph in Doylestown (Bucks County), Willow Grove (Montgomery County), Easton (Northampton County) and at the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 45 mph in Pottstown (Montgomery County) and Bristol (Bucks County).
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 79781. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.