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50 mph wind gusts possible around Philly area, 60 mph at the Shore

The winds could blow down trees and cause power outages.

A rainbow appears over the Ben Franklin Bridge after a rain storm earlier in the winter. The forecast holds no pot of gold nor even a silver lining for snow-lovers.
A rainbow appears over the Ben Franklin Bridge after a rain storm earlier in the winter. The forecast holds no pot of gold nor even a silver lining for snow-lovers.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
    by Anthony R. Wood
    Updated 
    Published 

The National Weather Service has lifted a flash flood watch for the Philadelphia region as it faces a potentially damaging windy onslaught for the most of the day Friday.

» UPDATE: Thunderstorm, tornado warnings issued for Philly area ahead of windy onslaught

The flash flood watch had been scheduled to run until 4 p.m. Friday, but it was taken down after heavy rains that had been expected to douse the region shifted away from the area.

Attention is now centered on the possible danger from high winds, with the agency issuing an advisory for westerly gusts up to 50 mph until 7 p.m. Friday for Philadelphia and surrounding counties. The weather service has issued a high wind warning for the Jersey Shore and coastal counties for gusts of up to 60 mph.

Besides possibly bringing down trees whose roots have been loosened by recent rains, the winds could affect travel with reduced speed limits expected to be posted on some bridges and highways.

The agency’s Aviation Weather Service Center also issued an advisory for severe turbulence for an area stretching from South Carolina to Maine, including all of Pennsylvania.

“We can’t rule out some even stronger [gusts],” Nicholas Carr, a meteorologist with the NWS in Mount Holly, said Thursday.

The agency says that given the saturated soils, the strong winds could cause some tree damage that would lead to power outages.