After 215,000 lose power in the Philly region, the winds back off. Now, about that snow threat ...

It had been over a year since the weather knocked out power to so many utility customers, and what was perhaps most unusual about what happened Sunday into Monday is that it didn’t involve a thunderstorm, or tropical remnant, or snow and ice or other atmospheric torments.

In this case, it was all about winds, with gusts of 60-plus mph across the region, and their persistence. They will back off Tuesday, but still howl to 35 mph at times, and drive wind chills into the single digits in the morning — of special concern for those who may still be without power.

About 28,000 Peco customers still were waiting for the lights to come back on late Monday afternoon. In all, more than 215,000 customers in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey lost power at some point, according to Peco and Atlantic City Electric.

Winds were inhibiting repair operations Monday, utility officials said; it wasn’t the best day to be in a bucket truck.

The winds, which became furious about 5 p.m. Sunday and gained a second gusty second wind around daybreak, took down trees and closed roads. A motorist was killed when a tree fell on a car in Crescentville. Over 130 flight delays and cancellations were reported at Philadelphia International Airport.

» READ MORE: Neighbors recount the failed rescue of a beloved woman killed by a falling tree in Northeast Philly

At least snow shouldn’t be an issue this week. Based on the latest forecasts, barring another Super Bowl parade, schools should be operating normally.

Winds could gust to 35 mph Tuesday, then back off to 10 mph or less Wednesday and Thursday.

Maybe the atmosphere will run out breath.

“This was a really extreme wind,” said Frank Tedesco, spokesperson for Atlantic City Electric.

The outages were notable in that they weren’t in association with a thunderstorm, derecho, hurricane, or other atmospheric trauma — just wind, said Peco spokesperson Greg Smore. It marked the highest number of Peco interruptions since January 2024.

At the peak Sunday, as many as 150,000 Peco customers were without power, according to Smore, who noted that such numbers usually are associated with assorted atmospheric mayhem and/or the accompanying winds. In this instance, a minor amount of snow and ice on Saturday preceded rains that weren’t all that impressive.

About 25,000 Atlantic Electric companies lost power at some point, most of those in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties, said Tedesco.

A gust of 58 mph — a level that is reached only about every three years on average, according to official weather records — was observed at Philadelphia International Airport. A gust past 70 mph — just shy of hurricane force — was clocked at the Atlantic City airport.

Strong winds continued through the night, and the gusts got a second wind, so to speak, around daybreak Monday, said Michael Silva, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.

A wind advisory was in effect until 6 p.m. Monday for gusts up to 50 mph. Wind chills were forecast to stay in the teens during the afternoon, and the rest of the workweek looks to be quite cold, although the winds should back off Tuesday.

The region is getting caught in a massive wind corridor between two potent weather systems, said Silva. Dry and cold high pressure, or heavier air, to the west is interacting with a potent area of stormy low pressure — which affected the Philly region during the weekend — to the east.

Winds naturally move from heavier air toward lighter air

Think of the air escaping from a punctured tire; in this case that would be a whole lot of blowouts.

Winds affected flights all over the Northeast, said Heather Redfern, spokesperson for the airport.

It is unclear how many of the PHL disruptions were attributable directly to the weather, but Redfern said that FlightAware reported over 460 cancellations and delays Sunday, about half those originating in Philly. About 130 were reported Monday morning.

Downed trees closed “many” roads, said PennDot spokesperson Brad Rudolph. Among those still closed Monday were several in Doylestown Township, Bucks County, and Whitehorse Road in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County.

The most vulnerable trees would have been the shallow-rooted evergreens, said arborist Jason Parker, district manager with the Davey Tree Expert Co., in Warminster. Unlike deciduous trees that are bare in winter, the evergreens hold their needles year-round, so “they also catch more of the wind.”

SEPTA reported only minor problems, said spokesperson Andrew Busch, with delays on the Route 49 bus and the Cynwyd rail line resulting from trees on overhead wires.

Philly evidently will not be digging its way out of a major snowfall this week, but instead will continue to dig its way out of what Ray Martin, a lead meteorologist in Mount Holly, called a “snow hole.”

Philly’s official seasonal snow total, 8.0 inches, remains tied with that of New Orleans. Cities to the south and north all have had several inches more snow than what has been measured at the official PHL station.

Computer models last week were seeing visions of a plowable, school-closing snow Wednesday into Thursday, but they evidently have shaken off the hallucinogens. It still might snow Wednesday night into Thursday, said Silva — “We can’t rule anything out” — but an inch may be a stretch.

Local snow lovers are advised to consult with the football fans of Kansas City.

Staff writer Zoe Greenberg contributed to this article.