Storm strikes Montgomery County, knocks power for thousands

Heavy rain, lightning, gusting winds, and pebble-sized hail toppled trees and power lines across parts of Montgomery County and the broader Philadelphia region Wednesday evening, leaving about 37,000 PECO customers without electricity at the height of the stor

Wednesday evening, the weather turned violent fast—so fast that by rush hour the Philadelphia region was already dealing with toppled trees and downed power lines.

Cleanup started soon after. with heavy rain and strong winds sweeping through parts of Montgomery County and leaving thousands without electricity. The storm moved through the Philadelphia area around rush hour. bringing lightning. gusting winds. and reports of pebble-sized hail in areas including Malvern in Chester County and Wilmington. Delaware.

In Pottstown, fallen trees lined the streets. “Every block, there’s gigantic trees down,” said resident Andrew Quintois. On Thursday. he walked along Prospect Street. where damage from the storm was visible as he tried to understand why his home had lost power. “My wife and I both work from home, so we have to figure out how to get online,” he said.

The scale of the outage was stark. PECO reported that about 37,000 customers were without electricity at the height of the storm. By Thursday afternoon, that number had dropped to around 2,000 as utility crews continued working to restore service and respond to damage reports.

The storm’s aftermath included direct, dangerous damage. In Pottstown, a tree fell onto a home on Mervine Street. In Berwyn, another tree ignited after it came down on power lines along Waterloo Road.

PECO officials linked the severity to the broader weather pattern leading up to the storm. Officials said the storm followed a stretch of hot weather, conditions that can lead to sudden severe storms. “We do know that when heat comes. typically at the end of that heat stretch. you can see pop-up thunderstorms like we did last night. ” said Matt Rankin. a senior communications specialist with PECO.

Down the road in Lower Pottsgrove Township, the destruction was close enough to measure at eye level. Anne Gorski said she went outside after the storm passed and immediately saw what it had done. “Came outside afterwards and saw this lovely destruction of trees,” she said. A large tree fell in her yard, bringing down a utility pole and power lines. Gorski said her household was prepared for an extended outage. “Driving around. we had to pick up a generator last night because we anticipate a couple days of this. ” she said.

Even so, some residents said they were relieved the storm didn’t cause worse damage to homes. “Damage to the houses is very minimal, so it’s just an inconvenience,” said Lower Pottsgrove Township resident Gary Frisoli.

As crews continued restoring power and clearing debris, utility officials urged residents to treat storm damage as dangerous. Rankin said residents should stay away from downed power lines or equipment that’s damaged. warning that anyone who spots it should assume it is energized and therefore dangerous.

For many in Montgomery County, the storm’s cost wasn’t just visible in the broken branches and damaged lines—it was felt in the interruption of daily life, the scramble to get online, and the careful wait for electricity to come back.

Montgomery County storm PECO outage Pottstown power lines Lower Pottsgrove Berwyn damage pebble-sized hail lightning and gusts tree down