June 03, 2020
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Severe thunderstorms and powerful winds are expected across the Philadelphia region on Wednesday afternoon. The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, urging residents to take immediate shelter.
Three people were killed in Montgomery County on Wednesday as the Philadelphia region was hammered by severe thunderstorms with powerful, damaging winds, officials said.
During the second wave of storms, shortly after 7 p.m., a Tornado Warning was in effect in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware counties until 7:45 p.m.
Earlier Wednesday, the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety said two fatalities occurred in Lower Merion Township and a third occurred in Lower Moreland Township.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly described Wednesday's storms as an "extremely dangerous situation," warning that wind gusts had been reported as strong as 83 mph in Berks County. Another gust of 73 mph was recorded in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia.
[1200 PM] A line of severe storms is currently approaching Philadelphia and Trenton from the west. This is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. These storms are producing widespread wind damage across eastern PA. SEEK SHELTER NOW inside a sturdy structure and stay away from windows! pic.twitter.com/ywvAzSfseK
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) June 3, 2020
A line of showers and heavy thunderstorms first crossed the I-95 corridor between 12-1 p.m., resulting in about 1,730 power outages that have affected more than 320,000 households in the region, according to PECO's outage map.
The earlier storm system was described as a derecho, which is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm accompanied by a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms. Temperatures climbed into the 80s and 90s on Wednesday.
By 5 p.m., Montgomery County reported at least ten municipalities that had more than 5,000 residents still without power. Numerous long-term care facilities, which have been hard-hit during the coronavirus pandemic, were left without power.
The county is working with the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania to coordinate assistance to these facilities. Special consideration is being given to ensure the continued isolation of LTC residents who have COVID-19, despite any power interruptions, officials said.
In Lower Moreland Township, a staff member at the Philmont Country Club reportedly died when a tree branch crashed through the roof of a building, according to NBC10. In Lower Merion, two others died when trees fell onto their cars in the road.
"The primary hazard with any severe storms is expected to be damaging winds, though some severe hail is possible," the NWS said. "Heavy rain may be possible with some of the storms this afternoon and evening, this could lead to localized flooding especially in areas of poor drainage."
Some scenes from the storm were shared on social media Wednesday afternoon.
Folks, we’ve got a nasty rain delay here in #Philly. Strong line of storms and winds clocking in at up to 80 MPH just hit the city.
— Matt Wargo (@MattWargo) June 3, 2020
From this vantage point - a small group of protesters rode it out sitting along the police line across from City Hall. @NBCNews @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/ynKkqVaRgp
@phillywx pic.twitter.com/PZwBQFCEso
— Jim Manion (@jjmanion) June 3, 2020
Devastating destruction of trees in Jefferson Square Park in South #Philadelphia by today’s storms. #Philly pic.twitter.com/Im0V2nz89k
— Liam Goldrick (@lgoldrick25) June 3, 2020
@NBCPhiladelphia @6abc - some crazy flashes / transformers blowing out from recent storms through philly area pic.twitter.com/KacZmORcr2
— Bhumik Shah (@Bhumik_Shah) June 3, 2020
we just got rocked in Plymouth meeting, had to be atleast 80mph @phillywx @6abc pic.twitter.com/fS23XBp9lV
— Matt Brauckmann (@BrauckObama) June 3, 2020
A #nofilter picture of the alien invasi—I mean afternoon storms rolling into Philly on June 3, 2020 @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/FUwQ2DtVPz
— Ri (@Ri_Fi) June 3, 2020
WATCH: Severe storms move in in Center City as blinding rain overtakes our camera over the parkway.
— FOX 29 (@FOX29philly) June 3, 2020
MORE: https://t.co/qkw2xFNAqY pic.twitter.com/kaQ6XGCgTe
Dark storms fall upon #Philly @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/y3Edo5elpc
— Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) June 3, 2020
Here's a look at the forecast in Philadelphia through the weekend:
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1 p.m. Some storms could be severe, with large hail and damaging winds. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. At night, showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1 a.m., then a slight chance of thunderstorms after 4 a.m. Some storms could be severe, with large hail and damaging winds. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. West wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday: A slight chance of showers between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. At night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., then a slight chance of showers after 2 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday: A slight chance of showers before 11 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. At night, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 8 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., then a slight chance of showers after 5 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday: A chance of showers between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Chance of precipitation is 40%. At night, partly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 80. At night, mostly clear, with a low around 60.
