2020 Brought Some Wild Weather To Pennsylvania. Take A Look Back

PENNSYLVANIA — In any year other than 2020, the weather events of the past calendar year would have been enough for observers to tab this as the year of Mother Nature's fury.

Yet amidst the pandemic, social unrest, and an unprecedented election season, it may have been easy for many to overlook just how strange and severe the weather in Pennsylvania was. Or, perhaps, it was taken in stride as just one more crushing blow during a relentless and endless year.

2020 brought floods, tornadoes, torrential rains, winds that ripped roofs off, the first heavy snowfall in years in parts of the state, and more.

These bizarre weather events could be the new normal for Pennsylvania. Climate change impacts are associated with more frequent and more intense severe weather events, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 2020's storms, especially the devastating summer floods, have spurred increased funding in many parts of the state for better storm management systems, flood and wastewater control, and other climate resilience projects.

Here's a glance at the wildest weather to hit the region in 2020.

Tropical Storm Isaias and the summer rains

Perhaps the most powerful and most bizarre of the year's weather events was Tropical Storm Isaias, which hit eastern Pennsylvania with a vengeance on August 4.

Torrential rains led to historic flooding numerous local waterways, including the Perkiomen Creek and Schuylkill River. The Perkiomen saw a 19.14 rise, nearly a foot higher than its highest recorded crest some 85 years ago.

The Schuylkill, meanwhile, soared 20.55 feet in the midst of the storm, the fifth highest crest of the river in recorded history, and the highest it has been since a May 2014 storm. "Flood stage" is considered to be 13 feet.

Additionally, two tornadoes touched down during the storm, one which traveled 20 miles across Bucks County and another in Montgomery County.

Tragically, the storm claimed the life of a local five-year-old child, Eliza Talal, a resident of Towamencin Township. The community came together to honor her memory, raising tens of thousands for her family.

Damages around the region including the roof of the Children's Village daycare at Doylestown Hospital being ripped off. Due to "heroic efforts," no serious injuries were reported.

The Elmwood Park Zoo had to move dozens of its animals to safety during the height of the storm as the zoo saw severe flooding and heavy property damage.

The storm caused around $30,000 in damage to property stewarded by Wissahickon Trails in Montgomery County, along Wissahickon Creek.

An East Wind Is Coming

A year after a historic month for tornadoes in Pennsylvania in 2019, tornadoes were once again a fixture on the local weather scene.

On Halloween night, a powerful windstorm swept through the region, with an EF-2 tornado touching down in Glen Mills, Delaware County.

Straight line winds up to 110 miles per hour also caused damage in other parts of the region on that spooky night, including Bucks County. Several homes were damaged from falling trees, and tens of thousands were left without power.

Heavy winds and rains returned to the region in late November, as another tornado touched down in southeastern Pennsylvania.

This time, the tornado rated EF-0 landed in Montgomeryville, running along a half mile stretch of land for less than a minute.

Trees, picnic benches, cars and tables were tossed "a few hundred feet," the National Weather Service said, while metal light posts and street signs were bent. A local hotel and Costco had pieces of their roofs and siding ripped off.

Seasonless shifts

Beyond storms, much of the year has been characterized by uncharacteristic shifts in temperature.

January brought the warmest temperatures in history to the Philadelphia region, with a record high of 67 degrees on Jan. 11.

That was followed by an exceedingly mild February in much of Allegheny County, with temperatures averaging about 9.7 degrees above normal. Philadelphia saw a similar increase of about 7 degrees over the average during that time.

Pittsburgh saw temperatures near their coldest point ever in late May, dropping into the mid-20s and threatening crops and other sensitive vegetation. T

The final days of the summer brought record low temperatures to other parts of Pennsylvania. Allentown recorded a low temperature of 33 degrees on Sept. 21, breaking the old record of 34 degrees set in 1956. Reading was 38 degrees the same morning, tying a record set in 1956.

That came amidst a week of cool, mid-60s weather for much of eastern Pennsylvania, which was promptly followed by a return to summer-like temperatures for a few weeks following.

2020 was the third hottest summer on record in 150 years of recorded meteorological history in Philadelphia, according to an analysis from the Inquirer.

Sporadic warm days continued into December, with a mid-December Sunday over 60 degrees coming just days before a snowstorm.

Snow At Last

The region's first major snowstorm in years came through in mid-December, dumping more snow in a matter of hours than many parts of the state, like Philadelphia, saw throughout the entire 2019-2020 winter season.

Most areas saw less than a foot, even though the possibility of much more had been predicted. Still, itt was the most snowfall the region has received in more than 1,000 days, forecasters with Action News noted.

The snowfall even brought famed stormchaser and meterologist Jim Cantore to the state.

Power outages were minimal for the storm. Some schools took the opportunity to hold a traditional snow day, even though they had been scheduled for virtual work anyway, in an effort to give children and teachers a sense of normalcy.

Here's a glance at town by town snowfall totals around the region.