Heavy rain results in power outages across the Lehigh Valley

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Hundreds of power outages were reported across the Lehigh Valley early Monday following heavy rains.

PPL Electric reported 449 customers in Lehigh County without power about 5 a.m., with all outages attributed to weather or weather-related causes.

There were nearly 100 outages reported in Northampton County, and nearly 2,000 outages across the entire PPL service area.

• Hundreds of people were without power in the Lehigh Valley early Monday
• The outages came after heavy rain fell across the region
• At least 2.35 inches of rain were measured at the airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County

The Lehigh Valley received more than three inches of rain over the weekend, with most of it falling Sunday and overnight into Monday.
By 2:01 a.m. Monday, at least 2.35 inches of rain had been measured at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

Why does power go out in heavy rain?

While the Lehigh Valley experienced no severe storms over the weekend, the entire region was under a flood watch until early Monday.

Flooding can damage both overhead and underground electrical equipment, and trees falling on power lines or tree limbs coming into contact with power lines are a frequent cause of outages.

Trees on wires were reported in Upper Milford Township in Lehigh County during the storm, according to PPL’s outage map, but the majority of outages were listed with “weather” as the cause.

Momentary power outages were reported across social media Sunday night, with many people reporting a dimming or flickering of their lights or a brief loss of power.

Short circuits can happen when something, such as a tree limb, comes in contact with power lines or when lines touch each other. When a short circuit occurs, a breaker automatically de-energizes the circuit and interrupts the flow of power.

PPL’s smart grid is designed to sense the problem and restore power to customers in minutes, most times before repairs are even made.

Most customers were expected to have power restored Monday morning, PPL's website said.

Omega block pattern dominates

An Omega block is a pattern in which a ridge of high pressure is sandwiched between dips in the jet stream, where areas of low pressure (or storms and bad weather) usually are found.

That’s the pattern we’re stuck in right now, forecasters say, with scattered shower chances through the entire week.

Daytime highs also will stay below average, in the low- to mid-50s through Wednesday, EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said in his latest video forecast.

The weather service said there may even be snowflakes in the highest elevations of the Pocono Plateau, as lows fall into the mid-30s overnight.

"It is going to linger," Martrich said of the pattern. "Tuesday and Wednesday are the most notable days ... and we're allowing Thursday and Friday for that lingering."