BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The National Weather Service said a damaging wind threat will increase through the afternoon, with the Lehigh Valley under a severe thunderstorm watch for the second straight day.
The probability of a severe thunderstorm watch being issued was 80 percent, the Storm Prediction Center said around 12:30 p.m., when the temperature sat at 91 degrees with a dew point of 71, pushing heat indices into triple digits for the third straight day.
The watch was issued 30 minutes later and will remain in effect until 8 p.m. It warns of isolated hail, frequent lightning and scattered wind gusts up to 70 mph likely.
“Relatively strong heating is underway from parts of the Mid-Atlantic through western New England,” the SPC said, highlighting a “general increasing in storm development and coverage expected with time this afternoon.”
While damaging winds remain the greatest threat with any storms, it’s possible that multiple storm clusters and possibly a couple of supercells could evolve, the SPC said.
“Some threat for isolated hail and/or a brief tornado is possible if any supercells can be sustained. One or more watches will likely be needed.”
Storms toppled trees, cut power Tuesday
Wednesday's threat comes a day after damaging winds tore through the region, leaving thousands of residents without power.
The National Weather Service reported wind gusts as high as 49 mph at Lehigh Valley International Airport as storms barreled through the region early Tuesday evening.
Wind and rain limited visibility on the roads, including parts of Interstate 78 from Bethlehem toward Center Valley. A tree fell across Lanark Road, snapping a utility pole and taking wires down with it around the same time.
Trees were reported ripped from the ground in the 200 block of Fifth Street in Whitehall.
Outages to PPL Electric customers were mostly concentrated in places like Allentown, South Whitehall Township and Upper Saucon Township.
The weather service said on X it received "numerous reports" of wind damage across eastern Pennsylvania into North/Central New Jersey, with indication of severe downbursts and straight-line winds.
Just under 1,000 PPL customers remained without power in Lehigh County around 1 p.m. Wednesday, with just eight outages in Northampton County.
Met-Ed still had about 26 customers without power in Northampton County, according to the utility company's outage map.
