A radar image of Thursday's storm as it approached the Philadelphia region. (Credit: @epawawx on X)
PHILADELPHIA — A fierce thunderstorm tore through the Philadelphia area on the Thursday evening, pulverizing the skies with winds gusting over 55 mph, sending a wall of rain slamming into the city and suburbs and knocking out power for 275,000 residents and businesses.
In just 60 minutes, at approximately 5 p.m. Thursday, the storm’s fury snapped tree trunks throughout Lower Merion and Bensalem, uprooted mature shade trees that crashed onto vehicles in Bensalem Township, and sent branches smashing through homes in Chester County’s Westtown and East Marlborough.
.One of the more striking incidents occurred in Delaware County, where a massive tree in Drexel Hill pinned a woman inside her house—fortunately she was rescued alert and conscious by first responders.
A Drexel Hill woman was rescued from her home after this tree fell during today’s storm. @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/5L6fgDw4iO
Nearby, a car was crushed by a large tree branch on Burmont road.
In Philadelphia’s East Oak Lane, at least one child was injured after being trapped by a falling tree branch on North 11th Street; the youngster was quickly transported to Einstein Medical Center. His condition was unknown at the time of publication.
\The tempest also wreaked havoc on infrastructure: tens of thousands of PECO power lines came down, darkening service to more than 275,000 customers at peak outage—158,000 still remained without power Friday morning, including roughly 5,000 in Philadelphia proper.
SEPTA commuter lines were disrupted, and a small, unoccupied plane even flipped at Northeast Philadelphia Airport during the storm.
With so much work to be done, PECO has suspended the announcement of restoration times as many hold out hope that it doesn't linger too long into the weekend.
Another instance of storm damage in Havertown #Delco - huge tree split & a major branch fell on this unoccupied car on Manoa Rd a block from Eagle Rd @KYWRadioTraffic @KYWNewsradio @HavTwp @HaverfordPD pic.twitter.com/hWFtuMr0sJ
In Bala Cynwyd, powerful winds damaged the roof of One Bala Plaza, home to radio station 93.3 WMMR, sending debris onto nearby vehicles in the parking lot.
As conditions calmed, temperatures that earlier in the day hovered in the low 90s, plunged nearly 20 degrees at Philadelphia International Airport after the storm.
Still, a sharp heatwave looms—starting Saturday, highs are expected to be in the 90s and climb to near-100-degree territory early next week .
PECO has reported that its crews are currently undertaking a “multiday restoration effort,” and residents are urged to treat downed lines as active and report outages via 1‑800‑841‑4141.
With repair and cleanup efforts intensifying, officials are also encouraging citizens to stay hydrated, aid vulnerable neighbors, and maintain vigilance during the pending heatwave, especially with grid demands and safety concerns on the rise.
