Tea Cup Size Hail Tonight: Rare In Pennsylvania

Tonight, Pennsylvania saw a rare weather phenomenon. Hail 3.00” in diameter or the size of “tea cups”. According to the National Climatic Data Center, since 1950 (when records were first kept by them), there was only 11 previous reports on file of 3.00” diameter hail or larger. Tonight, there were three reports of 3.00” diameter hail in Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

The largest hailstone to ever occur in Pennsylvania was back 1956 in Beaver County when 4.50” hail was reported. There are three reports of 4.00” diameter hail on file which were received in 1980 and 2010. There is also one report of 3.80” diameter hail that was received in 1994. The other 6 of 11 were 3.00” hail reports which were reported in 1960, 1967, 1974, 1983, 1996, and 2010.

Tonight’s reports occurred in Summit Hill around 7:06 p.m. Two reports were received in the community of Lansford around 7:06 p.m. and 7:10 p.m.

Of course, hail was not the only problem this evening. Damaging wind gusts caused numerous trees and power lines to come down in parts of the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos. Whether any brief tornado occurred within the swath of damaging winds will be considered by the National Weather Service if any reports of significant damage are received.

Tens of thousands have been left in the dark from Southwestern Pennsylvania into Southern New York by the large hail and damaging winds…and even a few suspected tornadoes that we know of in Central Pennsylvania.

Wild, Windy Afternoon With Strong Winds!

Incredible! A sustained wind of 46 MPH was reported at Philadelphia International Airport at 3:55 p.m. A gust to 54 MPH was reported.

Other wind gusts around the region at 4 PM include 47 mph in Coatesville, 44 mph in Lancaster and Northeast Philadelphia, 54 mph (sustained at 39 mph) in Wilmington, and 52 in Trenton.

3:10 p.m. Update: Sustained Winds as of 2:55 P.M. :

Washington-Dulles: 43 MPH

Fredrick, Maryland: 36 MPH

Baltimore-Washington: 37 MPH

Harrisburg: 33 MPH

Lancaster: 33 MPH

Northeast Philadelphia: 33 MPH

Wilmington: 32 MPH

Philadelphia International 30 MPH

Numerous gusts in the 45 to 60 MPH range.

While the line of thunderstorms pushes east, it is time to emphasize what is going to happen next. There could be a lull in the wind for the next hour, but it will rapidly pick up shortly.

As of 1:54 p.m., Lancaster Airport and Hagerstown Regional Airport (both to our west) have reported sustained winds of 41 MPH. Washington D.C. also reported a sustained wind of 39 MPH. To put this in perspective, sustained tropical storm force winds are 39 to 73 MPH. It is very rare to see the sustained high wind warning criteria being met in the Delaware Valley and it is possible we could see this happen.

The high wind warning remains in effect and the winds will mean serious business late this afternoon and early this evening. Certainly, gusts of 40 to 60 MPH will down many trees and cause widespread outages. But in the areas that see 35 to 45 MPH sustained winds, there could be quite a few problems.

Brutal Reminder of Winter's Reality

After an early morning high of 41 in Philadelphia (average for the date is 41), a gusty blast of cold from Canada has infiltrated the region and has sent our temperatures on a slow slide south, with temperatures now down into the 20's in many locations and working towards our projected lows in the teens.

Those gusty winds from Canada have been rather gusty as well, gusting to as much of 44 miles per hour in Philadelphia and as much as 52 miles an hour along coastal sections of New Jersey in Ocean County.   Winds have generally been sustained in Philly today between 20 and 30 mph, enough to slap us all in the face with winter's reality after a couple of days' break from the chill.

Winds will subside somewhat tomorrow but remain gusty at times as the cold push of air takes over the region.  Expect peak winds gusting to 25 mph tomorrow, not as high as today but still enough to add a substantial chill to the air.