Windiest day since Sandy

Based on the preliminary daily climate summary, the average wind speed at Philadelphia International Airport today was 25 m.p.h. – not gust, average.

For sustained winds, this was the windiest day in Philadelphia since Oct. 29, 2012, the day that a storm named Sandy arrived.

The peak gust, 48 m.p.h., was the highest since Nov. 1, and Wilmington recorded its highest, 53 m.p.h., since Dec. 21, 2012.

The stiffest winds got underway before midnight, and they still haven't let up. At 5 p.m. at the airport, winds still were gusting to 39 m.p.h.

Yet PECO Energy reports that it hasn't had more than 2,000 power outages at any one time, and has fewer than 1,400 customers without power now.

By comparison, a total of 815,000 interruptions were reported as a result of the Feb. 5 ice storm.

That storm probably was unprecedented, coming after that unusual Feb. 3 snowstorm that left trees burdened with snow. This time around, snow and ice wasn't an issue.

Those February storm numbers notwithstanding, PECO's tree-pruning program has made a difference, said spokesman Greg Smore.  "We try to prevent the outages that can be prevented," he said.

But the ice storm, itself, probably did some substantial pruning of vulnerable trees, he said.

And in addition to no snow or ice, the trees still are mostly bare, and not weighed down by leaves. A similar wind attack in summer likely would have meant more outages, he said.

The winds really should begin backing off after dark, the weather service says.

And snow or some variant remains a possibility Sunday night into Monday.