Wild weather walloped Philadelphia early Monday morning -- and its lingering effects may have messed with your trip to work.
A line of strong early-morning storms swept through Philadelphia and the suburbs close to 4 a.m., leaving power outages, building damage and flood threats in their wake.
During the height of the storm, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for most of the area. All tornado warnings and watches and an NBC10 First Alert have since expired.
The storms also brought hail and hundreds of lightning strikes. Thousands electric customers lost power, particularly in West Philly and Delaware County, PECO reported. Thousands of other customers served by other providers also lost power.
Severe Storms Leave Damage in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
In Delaware, rescue crews said they responded to multiple reports of damage in western Sussex County. Debris could be seen strewn across some neighborhoods in Laurel and Seaford and a snack warehouse in Laurel had its roof torn off. Federal investigators would determine if a tornado touched down there.
The storm ripped the roof off two buildings at the All American Garden Apartments along South 8th Street in Camden, New Jersey. Firefighters say that no one was hurt but 27 residents were forced from their homes.
There were early reports of some damage, including a tree down on a house in Robeson Township, Berks County and tree on cars along Mole Street in South Philly.
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SEPTA said the weather contributed to signal suspensions and delays on the Broad Street Line and the Norristown High Speed Line. Service on the High Speed Line was suspended for a time, then resumed, with some residual changes, service around 6 a.m.
Local service on the Broad Street Line subway resumed at 7 a.m. with trains every 10 minutes. By 9 a.m. Express service had resumed and the Ridge Spur was operating every 10-12 minutes.
In Bucks County, Route 113 was closed between Route 309 and Bethlehem Pike due to water flooding the road. A stretch of the Martin Luther King Drive in Philly was closed due to flooding.
The storm moved quickly through the Philadelphia area. The most severe line was over coastal Jersey by 5 a.m.
More flooding remained possible in the wake of the storm, possibly messing with other routes during the Monday morning commute, NBC10 First Alert Meteorologist Bill Henley reported. There are flood warnings along some rivers and creeks in Pennsylvania and New Jersey until around 8 a.m.
The weather should start drying out by 8 a.m. From there, temperatures will drop from the upper 60s to the mid-50s by the afternoon.
Safety Tips:
- Don't walk, swim or drive through floodwaters. Remember that just 6 inches of water could knock you off your feet and that 12 inches could sweep away cars and small SUVs.
- Avoid bridges over fast-moving water.
- Review your tornado plan. Be ready to go to the lowest central room in your home and avoid windows. If you're in an apartment or a skyscraper, get to the lowest floor of the building.
