Strong Wind — Bucks, Pennsylvania

2008-03-08 · Bucks, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

Strong to damaging wind gusts affected eastern Pennsylvania during the evening and overnight on the 8th after a line of severe thunderstorms passed through eastern sections of the state. The strong to high winds caused the PATCO high speed line to suspend commuter service for two hours between Philadelphia and Camden County, New Jersey. The combination of the severe storms and the strong winds which followed caused about 170,000 homes and businesses to lose power. Power was not fully restored until the night of the 10th. A utility worker died while trying to restore power in Bucks County.

In Delaware County, about 24,000 homes and businesses lost power. Some roads were still closed on the 10th because of downed trees. Brookhaven and Haverford were among the last municipalities to have power restored. In Bucks County, a 43-year-old male utility worker died while trying to restore power in Riegelsville. About 24,000 residents lost power and 3,000 in the lower part of the county still did not have power on the morning of the 10th. The county 9-1-1 center responded to 1,800 calls between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST on the 8th, four times the average rate.

In Berks County, 30,000 homes and business lost power in 248 different locations. The County 9-1-1 center responded to 825 calls between 5 p.m. and 730 p.m. EST. The high wind ripped the roof off an abandoned home in Reading. In Amity Township, a trailer was blown off its foundation. A downed tree damaged a home in Ontelaunee Township. Sinking Spring was among the last areas to have power restored. In Lehigh County, two warming centers were opened because of the power outages. The strong winds complicated firefighter efforts to extinguish a deadly residential fire near the former Bethlehem Steel Plant. The fire destroyed three homes and killed four people.

The strong to high winds were caused by the pressure gradient or difference between the departing low pressure system that was moving into New England and a high pressure system approaching from the southwestern Gulf Coast states.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 90657. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.