A very strong area of low pressure moved northeast across the central Great Lakes on December 9th. Strong southeast winds developed ahead of this system during the early morning hours of the 9th.  Winds gusted to as much as 60 mph along and near the south shore of Lake Erie beginning around 430 am.  Then, a strong cold front stretching south from the low swept east across northwestern Pennsylvania during the afternoon hours of the 9th.  Showers developed ahead of the front and moved across Erie and Crawford Counties early in the afternoon.  Brief wind gusts in excess of 50 mph were reported with a few of the stronger showers.  Damaging southwest winds also occurred behind this cold front.  Many trees, utility poles and power lines were reported down.

High Wind in CRAWFORD, PENNSYLVANIA
From 09-DEC-09 12:00:00 to 09-DEC-09 22:00:00 (EST-5)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 200.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A strong cold front moved across Crawford County during the afternoon hours of December 9th.  A cluster of showers developed in advance of this front and moved across the county early in the afternoon.  Brief wind gusts in excess of 55 mph were reported with the showers.  Southwest winds behind the front rapidly increased during the afternoon hours with peak gusts of around 60 mph reported late in the day.  Winds continued to gust to as much as 50 mph through 10 pm.  The high winds downed trees, utility poles and power lines in Crawford County.  Scattered power outages were reported.  A few homes and buildings in the county sustained minor damage.  Most of this was from lost siding or roofing.  Some of this damage was associated with the showers that moved through early in the afternoon.

High Wind in NORTHERN ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA
From 09-DEC-09 04:30:00 to 09-DEC-09 22:00:00 (EST-5)
Magnitude: 54.00 MG
Property damage: 750.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong southeast winds developed during the early morning hours of December 9th.    The strong winds were enhanced by terrain that slopes downward toward Lake Erie.  This downward slope caused the southeast winds to accelerate greatly as the lake was approached.  Damaging wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were reported along and near the Lake Erie shoreline beginning around 430 am.  Winds continued to gust to around 60 mph through 8:00 am.  Peak gusts of 62 mph were reported at Erie International Airport at both 4:32 am and 7:12 am.  Widespread damage was reported near the lake.  Many trees, utility poles and power lines were reported down.  Scattered power outages were reported with thousands of people losing power.  Around 7 am, seven cars on a moving westbound train were derailed in North East Township.  No one was injured in the accident.  Wind gusts were generally no more than 40 mph from mid morning through early afternoon.  Then, a cluster of showers developed ahead of an approaching cold front and moved across Erie County during the early afternoon hours.  Winds briefly gusted to more than 55 mph as the showers moved through.  The cold front moved through during the middle part of the afternoon with southwest winds rapidly increasing behind the front.  Peak gusts of around 60 mph were reported late in the day.  Winds continued to gust to as much as 50 mph through 10 pm.  Some homes and buildings in the county sustained minor damage during this event.  Most of this was from lost siding or roofing.  Much of this damage occurred before daybreak.

High Wind in SOUTHERN ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA
From 09-DEC-09 04:30:00 to 09-DEC-09 22:30:00 (EST-5)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Strong southeast winds developed during the early morning hours of December 9th.    The strong winds were enhanced by terrain that slopes downward toward Lake Erie.  This downward slope caused the southeast winds to accelerate greatly as the lake was approached.  Damaging wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were reported along and near the Interstate 90 corridor beginning around 430 am.  Winds continued to gust to around 60 mph through 8:00 am.  A 75 mph wind gust was measured by a trained spotter about two miles southeast of the intersection of Interstate 90 and State Route 531 around 7:00 am.  Lesser wind gusts were reported in central and southern Erie County.  Many trees, utility poles and power lines were reported down across the northern third of the county.  Scattered power outages were reported with thousands of people losing power.  Wind gusts were generally no more than 40 mph from mid morning through early afternoon.  Then, a cluster of showers developed ahead of an approaching cold front and moved across Erie County during the early afternoon hours.  Winds briefly gusted to more than 55 mph as the showers moved through.  The cold front moved through during the middle part of the afternoon with southwest winds rapidly increasing behind the front.  Peak gusts of around 60 mph were reported late in the day.  Winds continued to gust to as much as 50 mph through 10 pm.  Some homes and buildings in the county sustained minor damage during this event.  Most of this was from lost siding or roofing.  Much of this damage occurred before daybreak.