High Wind — Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

2019-02-24 to 2019-02-25 · Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Erie International Airport reported a 58 mph wind gust at 1:35 pm local time. Wind gusts of 55 to 60 mph were also reported by local weather spotters and weather stations. Numerous trees, power lines, and power poles were reported down across the entire area. A travel ban for tractor-trailers was placed on Interstate 90 on the 24th due to the strong winds.

Wider weather episode

A long duration high wind event occurred across the area on February 24th. A low pressure system tracked out of the southern Plains and rapidly deepened as it moved towards the Great Lakes Region. This low originated over the panhandle of Texas on the 23rd with central pressure of 998 mb. The low tracked northeast to near Chicago by late on the 23rd, lifting a warm front across Northwest Pennsylvania. The low continued northeast towards eastern portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, deepening to 974 mb by mid-day on the 24th. This low extended a cold front over Northwest Pennsylvania, moving west to east, and brought very strong southwest to westerly winds to the region during the morning hours on the 24th. Strong winds behind the cold front began in Northwest Pennsylvania around Noon on the 24th. Wind gusts of 50-60 mph were common through the afternoon and into the evening with some locations experiencing gusts of over 60 mph. Some of the peak wind reports included 62 mph at Port Meadville Airport and 58 mph at Erie International Airport.

The persistent battering of the very strong winds resulted in thousands of power outages to residents across the area. Damage to trees were common, as large limbs were snapped or whole trees uprooted, exasperated by wet soil conditions that allowed trees to be toppled easily. In some cases trees fell on homes, power wires, and other structures. At least 2 semi-trucks were flipped on area roadways and a ban on empty semi-trucks was issued prior to the onset of strong winds for I-90 by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Structural damage from the wind was also reported to numerous structures.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 810518. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.