Speaking of storms; If anyone here has ever lived in the Shelocta / McIntyre / Indiana / Homer City area, you've had your brain rattled by thunder.
A buddy from undergrad who is now a climatologist explained to me that the greater Indiana, PA region is a "micro climate". The jet stream brings the air in. The air has to travel over the mountains. The longer path that the air follows over the Appalachians increases the velocity of the air as it continues along, forcing the warmer air upward. This sudden change in temperature results in a condensing effect over the region. This process is compounded by ionization of the local atmosphere resulting from the non-stop stream of airborne pollutants released by both Homer City and Beaver Run power stations.
The result; house rattling, roof shaking, window breaking thunder and lighting with a frequency greater than I ever thought I'd see in PA. I'm typically a lover of all things extreme weather, but, some of the storms up there were truly a bit much.