NOAA's National Weather Service - Binghamton, NY

Microburst /Straight Line Wind Damage/ Confirmed near Montrose in Susquehanna County Pennsylvania

Location: Montrose in Susquehanna County Pennsylvania
Date: July 29, 2011
Estimated time: 3:25 PM EDT
Estimated maximum wind speed: 75 MPH
Maximum path width: 400 yards
Path length: 1.5 miles
Beginning lat/lon: 41.8081n / 75.8781w
Ending lat/lon: 41.7961n / 75.8546w
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0

Summary

Thunderstorm winds damaged a home and took down some trees on hawley road on the west side of montrose near route 706. The thunderstorm then produced a significant microburst about a mile south-southeast of Montrose impacting property along Peterson Road, Meshoppen Creek Road, and Bolles Road. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped. A tree damaged the roof and side of a house and another crushed a farm outbuilding. Windows were blown out on a home and damage was done to a silo and barn. This damaged occurred along Peterson Road. The microburst then blew through farm fields and wooded areas taking down numerous trees. It crossed Meshoppen Road and Bolles Road snapping additional trees on nearby properties and then appeared to weaken as it moved up a hillside. The pattern that the trees fell in at each of the locations surveyed was slightly divergent which is indicative of a microburst.

Below is a map showing the approximate swath of the microburst/straight line winds. You will have to zoom in quite a bit in some locations to view the information.

For reference:

A microburst is a convective downdraft with an affected outflow area of less than 2 1/2 miles wide and peak winds lasting less than 5 minutes. Microbursts may induce dangerous horizontal/vertical wind shears, which can adversely affect aircraft performance and cause property damage. Straight-line winds are generally any wind that is not associated with rotation, used mainly to differentiate them from tornadic winds.

The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the event(s) and publication in National Weather Service Storm Data.

Watson