T-Storm Downs Trees, Lines Near Accu HQ

UPDATE:WJAC-TV has a video online about this storm.

FRIDAY UPDATE 11 AM: Below is a video blog looking at the storm and damage areas. Later tonight or this weekend, look for lightning video from me.

FRIDAY UPDATE 7:30 AM: Centre Daily has a new article up with photos, saying The stretch of Park Avenue from Jeffrey Field to East Halls and the intersection of Bigler Road was strewn with debris, including downed power lines and poles, road signs and traffic lights.. Fellow blogger Frank Strait (PREMIUM | PRO) was interviewed, noting "An intense thunderstorm cell erupted over downtown.It was a very small cell so not many places were affected." The article then said "Strait said it was unlikely that it was a tornado but instead a microburst -- a small but very intense moving downdraft in a thunderstorm."

I visited Park Avenue this morning around 7 AM; it has reopened with one lane in each direction only, and two blocks are still without power so traffic is being directed bythe police. Here is a movie showing the downed lines and poles:

NOTE: THE VIDEO ABOVE MAY BE PRECEDED BY ADVERTISEMENTS ON AD-SUPPORTED SITES

ORIGINAL ENTRY:

About 4:15 PM today, a severe thunderstorm downed trees only a mile or two from AccuWeather HQ and my house. The power blinked, but I didn't think much of it. I was outside with the camera pointed at the small storm to catch the frequent lightning. Below are radar images from AccuWeather.com RadarPlus.

DAMAGE OCCURRED AT "X" UNDER 60+ DBZ INTENSITY
ENLARGE* | DOWNLOAD MOVIE | ZOOMED OUT MOVIE

But on Park Avenue near the Beaver Stadium, wind downed trees and power poles. At least one power pole and power lines fell on a car, causing the people to have to be carefully extracted. More information on this severe storm is forthcoming. Here is an article from our local newspaper.

I drove to the scene tonight at 9 PM as more storms were moving in, but the damage was so severe that Park Avenue, a major artery of Penn State, remained closed five hours later. Looking at the radar loops, the storm was simply too small to show rotation on the radar. This is part of the problem that we deal with here in the East -- small storms with tiny areas of intense winds or rotation. The storm was a "pulse" type storm which began and ended within an hour's time.

*In the enlargement, the two large X's to the southwest of the storm are the locations of AccuWeather HQ and my home.