Thousands are without power in the Lehigh Valley after severe storms, with another round on the way
- Thousands are still without power in the Lehigh Valley after Thursday’s severe storms
- Another round of severe weather is expected on Friday
- Locally heavy rain could dominate the weekend weather
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Utilities reported thousands of customers without power early Friday after severe weather swept through the area Thursday night.
Forecasters say another round of storms is on the way.
As of 5 a.m. Friday, PPL Electric reported more than 800 customers without power in Lehigh County and 614 customers without power in Northampton County. Additionally, more than 2,000 customers were in the dark in Monroe County, according to an outage map.
According to Met-Ed’s outage map, more than 4,000 people were without power in Berks County. Lehigh County had 65 customers, while Northampton County had more than 1,700 customers affected.
The outage came after damaging winds swept through the area Thursday night, uprooting trees and power lines. After the severe thunderstorm warning expired at 9 p.m., damaging storms continued to batter the area until midnight.
Severe weather is on tap again
Friday is expected to be another hot and humid day, with another risk of severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening.
“Today we have a cold front that will be largely over the area… and will become the focus of scattered showers and thunderstorms,” EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said in his latest video forecast.
EPAWA’s forecast for 9/8 and next week, covering:
■ Bad weather conditions. For the second day in a row
■ The stalled front this weekend makes it unstable
■ Update on dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Lee https://t.co/m8W3M1EPUy-Bobby Martrich | Epawa (@epawawx) September 8, 2023
Martrich warned that Friday’s weather “will look like the same thing again,” but said coverage will not be as extensive as Thursday’s storms.
He said that Thursday “was wild,” noting that the borders drawn on the region will remain with us through the weekend.
“It’s going to stop and stay there for a few days,” he said, noting wet weather in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday.
Martrich classified the next three days as “almost daily chances of scattered rain and thunderstorms” but a dry period is likely on Saturday morning.
Possibility of heavy rain locally
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures are expected to drop Saturday, but will remain wet with rain and storms.
“Fall water values will be in the 1.5-2.0 inch range on Saturday, so convection will produce locally heavy rain,” the latest NWS forecast discussion said.
The risk of flash flooding should be limited, but locally heavy rain is likely again on Sunday.
(tags to translate) Lehigh Valley forecast
