Powerful storm that caused widespread damage in Centre County was downburst, NWS says
The storm that ripped through Centre County on Sunday included a downburst that had estimated peak winds of 100 mph in Bellefonte, the National Weather Service said in a public information statement Tuesday.
Downbursts are small areas of strong and often damaging winds produced by air rapidly descending in a thunderstorm, the NWS website states. When the descending air makes its way to the ground, it spreads in straight lines from the point of contact.
A line of thunderstorms hit areas of western and central Pennsylvania, the NWS said, which brought widespread wind damage to portions of Centre County. The storm damaged structures, uprooted and snapped trees, and knocked the power out for thousands of homes. A couple hundred are still without power as of Wednesday morning.
The NWS at State College had survey crews investigate areas of concentrated damage on Monday and shared some results in a public information statement. The downburst began in Bellefonte at 3:01 p.m. Sunday and lasted for about five minutes. Its path length was 3.3 miles.
“A strong squall line slammed through downtown Bellefonte, knocking down numerous trees and power lines. Notable tree and power line damage was observed near Saint Johns Cemetery on N Bishop Street and Union Cemetery on E High Street. Sporadic tree damage was observed throughout downtown Bellefonte and resulted in extensive power outages that lasted over 24 hours for many residents,” the public information statement reads.
The winds moved east of downtown and damaged a structure housing 30 pigs on Scott Avenue and knocked down several trees, according to the statement.
The NWS said more significant damage happened in the 800 block of Jacksonville Road where the support beams for a large garage were lifted up and shifted about 15 feet downwind. The garage collapsed and there was a total structural failure, the statement said.
“Tin and other debris from the garage were thrown upwards of 100 yards downstream along with knocking down several pine trees to the northeast as the downburst crossed Jacksonville Rd,” NWS said.
In other areas of Jacksonville Road, trees fell on an SUV and a house in separate incidents.
The wind damage ended north of Interstate 80 at the Interstate 99/US-220 and I-80 interchange. The NWS said dozens of trees were uprooted or snapped.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM.
