Severe storms caused major damage throughout the region, taking down trees and causing power outages. NBC10’s Keith Jones shows the damage in Northeast Philadelphia. Also, NBC10 First Alert Weather chief meteorologist Glenn Schwartz takes a look at the damage across the area.
Thousands were left without power and trees were downed across the area after quick-moving powerful storms ripped through the region Wednesday.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect for most of the region during the late afternoon through early evening.
Several trees toppled on roads throughout the area, including Falls Bridge and MLK Drive. A man was inside a car at that location when a tree came crashing down on his vehicle. The man was not seriously hurt however. Trees were also down on roads in the Logan section of the city, Northeast Philadelphia as well Montgomery County.
Downed wires from strong winds also caused major damage and a fire at Joe Trombetta's home on Algon Avenue in the Rhawnhurst section of Philadelphia.
"It almost sounded like a freight train coming through or the house exploded," Trombetta said. "I jumped out of bed, made sure my wife was okay. She says the whole roof is off the house."
The wind ripped the wires down and sparks tore a hole through pavement.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
"The fire was shooting up about 20 to 30 feet in the air," Trombetta said. "It was just a horrible experience."
The storms also caused thousands of power outages and even impacted SEPTA service. SkyForce10 was above a train that stopped between the Bryn Mawr and Haverford stations due to signaling issues caused by a tree falling on wires. Passengers were forced to walk along the tracks to get to the Bryn Mawr Station.
By midday Thursday only scattered outages remained with about 1,000 PECO customers in the dark.
