Potent March winds roar into Philly region, with outages and 50 mph gusts possible
With saturated ground, trees might be vulnerable, and winds in Center City could be "brutal" for a period.
March has a reputation as the windiest month, and the region is rediscovering that its reputation is more than just bluster.
The National Weather Service has posted a high wind advisory for the entire region and all of New Jersey for gusts up to 50 mph, and perhaps 60 mph at the Shore, with a gale warning in effect. The advisory is in place until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
A 47 mph gust was measured at Monday afternoon the Atlantic City airport, and a 43 mph gust officially in Philadelphia Monday night.
Given that the ground is “very saturated” and trees have pretty much lost that cemented snow-and-ice root protection, the winds could bring down some wood and cause at least “isolated” power outages, the weather service said.
“We can’t rule it out,” said Trent Davis, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. Fortunately, he said, since the deciduous trees are still bare, so their branches aren’t as heavy and winds can whistle through them.
Scattered outages were reported late Monday afternoon, including ones in Delaware County affecting more than 386 customers.
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In the city, the gusts could be especially punitive because of the effects of the skyscrapers that funnel winds through narrow corridors.
“In between buildings, it will be brutal,” said Davis.
The winds are riding a front that crossed the region Monday afternoon, and they are forecast to get a second wind from reinforcing front overnight as temperatures fall into the 20s.
Wind chills will drop to the low and mid teens by daybreak, and highs won’t get out of the 30s on Tuesday, although gusts will back off during the day.
March is indeed the windiest month in Philadelphia, with an average wind speed near 11 mph. A gust of 69 mph was recorded at Philadelphia International Airport on March 18, 1989.
» READ MORE: Damaging winds rip through Philly area; 130,000-plus lose power
The temperature contrasts that set off storms tend to peak in March as the midlatitudes become the grand theater for the annual battle between the receding winter and the advancing spring, energized by the ever-increasing power of the sun
With their lighter air, storms intensify the air-pressure differences that drive winds. Air moves from heavier air, or high pressure, to lower pressure. Air leaks from a punctured tire because it is escaping into air that is about half the weight.
The next several days should be dry. Temperatures are due to head back to the 50s on Wednesday, followed a cooldown and readings perhaps 10 degrees below normal on the weekend.