Power Outage in Bradford, PA

A severe thunderstorm producing wind estimated near 60 mph knocked down a tree onto power lines at Boyer Crossing.

A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down power lines along Route 46 (South Kendall Avenue) near Bradford.

A mix of snow and freezing rain resulted in significant winter weather impacts during the pre-Thanksgiving holiday travel. These included multiple vehicle accidents, road closures, downed trees/wires and power outages. Snow started around 1000 EST with accumulations by late afternoon on the 26th between 2 and 4 inches. Snow continued into the early evening before changing to a period of freezing rain for several hours prior to midnight. The freezing rain eventually changed back to snow with additional lake effect snows into the 27th.

Three to six inches of heavy wet snow caused extensive damage countywide related to leaf-laden trees and limbs falling on power lines. Upwards of six inches fell across the highest elevations.

The McKean County 911 center reported power lines down on Bondell Road off of Route 46 in Keating Township.

The McKean County 911 center reported several power lines down at the intersection of Champlin Road and Route 446 in Eldred Township.

Spotters in Kane reported one-quarter inch ice accretion on trees and power lines. McKean County 911 center along with PennDot reported numerous trees and power lines down county-wide. Total ice accumulations ranged from one-quarter to one-half inch.

The Bradford Regional Airport ASOS (KBFD) reported approximately three tenths of an inch of ice from freezing rain. A power outage at the airport due to the ice build-up was also confirmed by the airport manager. Runway reports indicated a glazing of ice.

Law enforcement reported numerous trees and power lines down in Bradford. McKean county emergency management reported the storm packed winds upwards of 50 to 70 mph...toppling more than 100 trees and damaging close to 60 homes. Two trees fell onto parked vehicles. Pennsylvania Electric representatives said that there were 5,000 residents without power during the peak of the storm with nearly 200 customers without power for over 24 hours. A large tank inside the American Refining Group's Refinery was buckled due to strong winds and a roof was torn off a boiler house. ||County officials said that no major injuries occurred as a result of the storms. |

A deep low pressure system developing along the northern mid Atlantic Coast combined with a strong upper level low pressure system, leading to a swath of moderate to heavy wet snow across the higher elevations of central Pennsylvania beginning on Tuesday morning, and ending by Tuesday evening. Snowfall accumulations generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches, with the highest amounts across elevations above 1800 feet. Some higher elevations of the Laurel Highlands received locally higher amounts in excess of one foot.The weight of the heavy wet snow, combined with nearly full foliage on many trees led to widespread fallen trees and tree limbs, as well as numerous power outages across the region. In particular, over 7000 customers in Somerset County were without power, while an estimated 8000 in Clearfield County were without power.In addition to tree damage and power outages, the heavy snow and fallen tree limbs closed many roads across the higher elevations.

A low pressure system moved northeast from the lower Mississippi Valley into the eastern Great Lakes from late Wednesday evening on December 22nd into Thursday December 23rd, and rapidly intensified. A strong cold front trailing from this low swept east across central Pennsylvania during the late morning and early afternoon hours of Thursday December 23rd. Several intense lines of rain showers developed along, and just ahead of this cold front, which were accompanied by damaging wind gusts of up to 60 mph. These strong winds downed numerous trees and power lines across portions of central Pennsylvania. In addition, strong winds occurred earlier on Thursday morning along and immediately to the north of some ridgetops, which produced minor structural damage in Centre County, where siding and shingles were reportedly blown off a house in Philipsburg at approximately 8 AM EST.

Weak low pressure brought a mix of sleet and freezing rain to the northern tier of Pennsylvania during the evening of Sunday January 4th through the morning of Monday January 5th. Over McKean, Elk and Cameron counties, significant ice accumulated. Trees and power lines were reported down in these counties as a result of the ice accumulation.

A low pressure system moved northeast along the mid Atlantic coast during Wednesday, January 1st, spreading a large swath of precipitation across Central Pennsylvania. The precipitation fell mainly in the form of rain south of Interstate 80, with a mixture of rain, freezing rain and sleet to the north. Across higher elevations of north central Pennsylvania, significant ice accretions of one quarter to locally one inch occurred, leading to numerous downed tree limbs and power lines, and resulting in widespread power outages. Elevations above 1800 feet were particularly hard hit.

Low pressure developed over the Great Plains states and moved east across the Ohio Valley spreading a wintery mix of precipitation into Pennsylvania on Friday, the 18th. Snow fell across all central sections, accumulating around 3 to 5 inches over southern sections and 4 to 7 inches across the north. as the low tracked across Pennsylvania, precipitation turned to freezing rain and drizzle across southern sections late Friday and Friday night, forming a glaze on trees, untreated roads, walkways, and power lines. Schools were closed across much of the area. Accidents were numerous, and commerce was slowed.

An early season heavy wet snowfall wreaked havoc across portions of northern and central Pennsylvania from the mid morning on the 15th through the late morning on the 16th. The combination of heavy wet snow and leaves on the trees made this an extremely destructive and high impact event. Most of the damage was related to large tree limbs and branches falling on homes and power lines. It is estimated that about 27,000 customers lost power. For many locations, this was the earliest snowfall ever recorded in the month of October. Snowfall totals generally ranged between 4 and 6 inches with up to 9 inches on the highest ridge-top elevations. The heaviest snow fell in a swath from central Centre County northward through Northern Clinton into Potter and Tioga Counties.

Periods of freezing rain resulted in minor to moderate ice accretion from the afternoon into the early evening across the northern tier of Central Pennsylvania. Slick roads resulted in numerous reports of vehicles sliding into telephone polls, causing sporadic power outages. Despite widespread quarter-inch ice build-up on trees and wires, local electric companies did not have any problems with downed lines.

Periods of freezing rain resulted in minor to moderate ice accretion over the North Central Mountains of Central Pennsylvania. The freezing rain began late on the 2nd and continued into the early morning hours on the 3rd. The overall impact from the ice accretion was minimal, given the time of occurrence (very late at night). In addition, the ice that did build-up on lines and trees quickly melted as temperatures increased overnight and precipitation changed to plain rain. While there were a few reports of power outages, none of them could be directly attributed to the freezing rain.