The 72 m.p.h. gust measured at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday was just 2 m.p.h. shy of hurricane force.
It was the fourth-strongest official wind speed on record, according to the National Weather Service.
No. 5, by the way, was just two months ago, a 71 m.p.h. gust from a downburst on April 22.
No. 1, not surprisingly, was generated by the passage of a hurricane – Hazel, in October 1954.
Here is the National Weather Service list of the top gusts recorded officially at the Philadelphia measuring station.
We couldn't find anything regarding the 1931 event, but the official monthly climate summary has a peak wind of 53 m.p.h. We assume the 1998 wind was thunderstorm-related:
94 m.p.h., Oct. 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel.
88 m.p.h., July 14, 1931, event not identified
75 m.p.h., June 24, 2010, severe thunderstorm.
72 m.p.h., June 23, 2015, severe thunderstorm.
71 m.p.h., April 22, 2015, downburst from shower.
71 m.p.h., June 1, 1998, event not identified.