Philadelphia's airport recorded a 50.1 mph gust on September 26, its first September gust that strong since 1996

Philadelphia International Airport recorded a gust of 50.1 mph on September 26, 2026. No other September day has reached 50 mph since the airport's gust record began in January 1996. The reading is the day's fastest 5-second wind speed in NOAA's daily summaries, and this site calls that reading the day's gust.

It was the eighth day of 2026 with a gust of 50 mph or more. Over the same stretch of the year, January 1 through September 29, only 2011 had more, with 9, and 2019 also had 8. The September readings are preliminary.

The storm pushed the gust to 50.1 mph on September 26

The wind picked up on September 25 and stayed up for three days. The airport's gusts reached 45.0 mph on the 25th, 50.1 mph on the 26th and 40.9 mph on the 27th. The average wind speed over the day was 18.34 mph on both the 25th and the 26th. Those two days tie for the fifth-highest daily average among the 929 September days in the record since 1996.

From 1996 through 2025, none of the 112 days at 50 mph fell in September

Before this year, the strongest September gust at the airport was 49.0 mph, reached in 1996 and again in 2003. From 1996 through 2025 the airport logged 112 days with a gust of 50 mph or more, and none of them fell in September. February and April had the most, 16 each, followed by January, March and December with 13 each. Those five months account for 71 of the 112 days.

The strongest single gusts have come at a different time of year. Nine of the ten strongest since 1996 came between April and July. The top reading is 74.9 mph, on June 24, 2010, followed by 72.0 mph on June 23, 2015. The tenth falls on October 29, 2012, at 68.0 mph.

Nine of the ten strongest gusts since 1996 came between April and July

The strongest of 2026's eight days was 59.1 mph on March 16

The eight days of 2026 are spread across the calendar. January through May each had one, July had two and September had one. The strongest was 59.1 mph on March 16. July 4 and July 11 both reached 55.9 mph.

At a lower threshold, the airport had 29 days with a gust of 40 mph or more from January 1 through September 29. That ties 2025 for the most over those months since 1996. The full year 2025 ended with 47 days at 40 mph or more and 12 at 50 mph or more, both the most in the record.

Days with a 50 mph gust averaged 5.3 a year from 2016 through 2025

The count has risen by decade. Days with a gust of 50 mph or more averaged 2.1 a year from 1996 through 2005, 3.8 from 2006 through 2015 and 5.3 from 2016 through 2025. Days at 40 mph or more averaged 17.7, 22.7 and 27.8 a year over the same decades.

Caveats

The National Weather Service says daily observations become official only after a final quality control process at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, three or more months after they are taken. The 2026 figures here can still change. The data for September 30 were not yet published when this article was written, so 2026 counts run through September 29, and every year's comparison uses the same January 1 to September 29 window.

The airport's daily gust readings start in January 1996, so "since 1996" is as far back as these comparisons go. The record is missing gust readings for 10 days from 1996 through 2025, no more than 2 in any year, and none in 2026. One of those days, September 6, 2012, falls in September.

The airport sits on the Delaware River southeast of Conshohocken. A reading there measures the wind at one spot and says nothing exact about a given street in Conshohocken or West Conshohocken. The weather guide covers the area's wind record alongside freeze-thaw days, rain and hail.

The record, year by year

Download the data: January to September counts, full-year counts, September gusts, days by month, 2026 days, the September storm, ten strongest gusts (CSV).