Rare thunderstorm jolts area

In the early-morning hours Patrick O'Hara heard something not usually associated with the week before Thanksgiving - peals of thunder.

"A couple of them woke me up," said O'Hara, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

Thunderstorms, more typical of June and July than November, rolled through parts of the region early this morning, depositing 1 to 2 inches of rain in some places.

Close to an inch was measured at the official stations in Wilmington and Philadelphia.

Downpours flooded some roadways and lightning strikes were suspected in several fires, including one at a home in Haverford.

Rain-slickened roads may have contributed to a fatal crash in Pennsauken. Police said a man was killed when he lost control of his SUV and it slammed into a tree on Browning Road near Madison Avenue about 5:50 p.m., as the rain was getting under way.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

O'Hara said the sound and light show was touched off by an upper-air disturbance and a passing cold front that mined humid air at the surface.

Once the front moved on, the skies cleared in a hurry.

The next two days should be splendid, but another coastal storm - albeit a weak one - may affect the region Sunday into Monday.

As for Thanksgiving weekend, the atmosphere may take on a decided chill, more fitting to the season on the doorstep.

"There's going to be kind of a pattern change later in the week," said O'Hara.