Hundreds Powerless As High Winds Batter Southeast PA

PENNSYLVANIA - Several southeast Pennsylvania counties are under a wind advisory Monday as winds up to 55 mph are expected to hit the state and potentially down trees and cut power.

As of 9:30 a.m., over 13,000 Pennsylvania households are without power, according to PowerOutage.Us. Most of the outages are in Berks, Wayne and Miffin counties. In southeast Pennsylvania, PECO is reporting over 1,300 outages with 105 in Bucks County; 88 in Montgomery; 219 in Chester; 36 in Philadelphia and 210 in Delaware.

Monday’s winds are a continuation of the fierce gusts recorded Sunday, some of which reached up to 49 mph in areas like White Clay Creek in Chester County and 63 mph at Philadelphia International Airport, according to the National Weather Service. Unlike Sunday’s cloudy cover, Monday is set to be sunny with a high near 52 degrees.

As of 9:30 a.m., wind advisories have been issued by the weather service to the following southeast Pennsylvania counties through Monday night:

• Carbon
• Monroe
• Berks
• Lehigh
• Northampton
• Delaware
• Philadelphia
• Chester
• Montgomery
• Bucks

“Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,” forecasters said. “Use extra caution. Secure outdoor objects.”

The strongest of winds are expected to take place late tonight through Monday, the weather service said. Due to saturated grounds from recent rain accumulation and thawed ground from a mild winter, tree damage may be greater than usual with the same wind speeds, AccuWeather said.

Additional winds, albeit weaker, are in the cards for the Keystone State on Tuesday with maximum speeds of 15 mph, the National Weather Service said. Otherwise, the daytime forecast looks dry with sunny skies and a high near 62 degrees.

The rest of the week will be mostly sunny with highs in the mid-60s before a chance of showers returns Friday.

(1/2) Scattered snow showers will persist over the S Poconos tonight. Otherwise, any other rain/snow showers will taper off over the next hour or so. Wind Advisories remain in effect for Monday for gusts as high as 50 mph for most areas, and as high as 55 mph in the mountains. pic.twitter.com/v66zBUywTm
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) March 11, 2024

Here's the latest forecast, according to the National Weather Service:

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 53. Breezy, with a west wind around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph.

Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 37. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 63. West wind 10 to 15 mph.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. West wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 43.