Thousands lack power after Philadelphia-area thunderstorms

Tens of thousands of Philadelphia-area homes and businesses remain without power after severe thunderstorms swept the area Tuesday night.

Utility companies were reporting shortly after 2 p.m. that 41,725 customers in the area lacked electricity.

Peco was reporting 39,846 outages and PSE&G was reporting 1,879 customers without power.

Chester County was the hardest hit, with 16,821 customers continuing to lack power through the afternoon, according to Peco.

That was followed by 8,619 outages in Bucks County, 6,884 in Delaware County, 6,660 in Montgomery County and 862 in Philadelphia, Peco said.

PSE&G reported 1,192 outages in Camden County, 652 in Burlington County and 34 in Gloucester County.

Power conditions have improved, however: Late Tuesday, more than 230,000 outages were reported across the area. Peco said this afternoon that it had restored power to more than 213,400 customers since the storm hit.

Numerous downed trees and wires were reported throughout the region. In some neighborhoods, streets and sidewalks were spattered with wind-blown fallen leaves, looking more like fall than mid-summer.

Those were also causing problems for transit agencies. Shuttle buses were continuing to run between Scenic Avenue and Media on the Route 101 trolley line through early afternoon.

Service on the Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail line was suspended for the bulk of the day but expected to resume mid-afternoon. SEPTA said the first outbound train would depart from Suburban Station at 2:37 p.m. and the first inbound train to Center City would leave Chestnut Hill East at 3:41 p.m.

Tuesday night, trees toppled by the storm had halted service on Amtrak's Keystone Line to Harrisburg. Downed trees and wires were also blamed for the suspension of service on SEPTA's Paoil-Thorndale, Fox Chase, Airport and Chestnut Hill East lines, as well as delays throughout the Regional Rail system. All lines except Chestnut Hill East were running again by this morning.

Roadways were also affected by fallen trees and wires, with more than 30 streets closed in Chester County alone.

The storms marked the third time in the past week severe weather has left a significant number of people without power.

Tuesday's heavy showers and strong winds swept through much of the Northeast, causing widespread power outages. Five people -- four in New York and one in Maryland -- were reported dead from the storms.

There's another chance of thunderstorms this evening, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters are calling for a high temperature of 90 degrees today and partly sunny skies. Showers and thunderstorms are most likely between 1 p.m. and 2 a.m., the weather service said.

Contact Emily Babay at 215-854-2153215-854-2153 or ebabay@philly.com. Follow @emilybabay on Twitter.

Contact the Breaking News Desk at 215-854-2443215-854-2443 or BreakingNewsDesk@philly.com. Follow @phillynews on Twitter.