More than 100 wind-damage reports but no tornadoes in Philly region; cool weather for Phillies’ opener

Those powerful winds that brought down trees and limbs throughout the region with gusts up to 70 mph generated more than 100 wind-damage reports Sunday night — but none of the mayhem was related to tornadoes, the National Weather Service said Monday.

All the damage was caused by “straight line” outflow winds associated with thunderstorms as a strong front approached, the agency said.

Reports of downed trees, limbs, and wires came from Philadelphia, all eight of its neighboring counties on both sides of the river, and northern Delaware.

Perhaps surprisingly, Peco and Atlantic Electric Co. reported relatively few power outages, and that likely was related to the still-leafless trees, said Robert Deal, a lead meteorologist at the weather service office in Mount Holly, and the fact that the root-holding soils weren’t completely saturated.

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Without leaves, winds can flow through the branches more easily, plus the limbs aren’t nearly as weighted as they will be later in the spring. From the looks of the bud-swollen trees, those first greens aren’t far away.

Winds were still howling Monday, up to 37 mph, but were due to back off at sunset, and Tuesday could be a potentially splendid day with sunshine, lighter breezes, and highs in the mid-60s.

Then more showers are possible Wednesday, and the outlook for the rest of the week might make the Phillies miss Clearwater.

The forecast for Thursday’s opener against the Atlanta Braves, which begins at 3:05 p.m., calls for temperatures in the 40s and winds gusting to near 30 mph, blowing in from left-center.

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“Major League Baseball missed the nice weather,” said Paul Walker, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

Around here, at mid-month March was on its way to becoming one of the drier and more wind-less Marches on record, with 16 consecutive dry days. That has changed dramatically. The winds obviously have made a strong comeback, and precipitation has inched above normal.

Volatility is the norm this time of year. Patterns are prone to flip-flop as the atmosphere can be as moody as a March afternoon. Later this week and for a time next week the region will find itself on the chilly end of the atmospheric seesaw, with quite warm conditions in the West and the mirror opposite in the East, Walker said.

Models do see warmer weather returning toward the end of next week, and inevitably, spring will be in full bloom with traffic likely picking up at the bird feeders.

Given the winds at flight level, as high as 1,500 feet, based on radar observations at Philadelphia’s East Park Reservoir, Sunday likely was a rough night for any migrating birds that were in transit, particularly the smaller ones, said Keith Russell, program manager for Urban Conservation at Audubon Pennsylvania.

But the early-season migrators — the likes of American robins, red-winged blackbirds, and common grackles — are in the neighborhood, he said, and the birds are picking up the chatter in the mornings and twilights, calling out for mates and imploring rivals to beat it.

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“You can’t say winter is over,” said the weather service’s Deal, “but spring has sprung.”