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Why that storm came on short notice … as in almost none

For tens of thousands, storm warnings, power outages came in a hurry.

(MARGO REED / Staff Photographer)
(MARGO REED / Staff Photographer)Read more(MARGO REED / Staff Photographer)

Unlike the day before, no severe-thunderstorm watches had been posted by the time a potent storm roared through the region during the peak home-bound commuting period Wednesday.

A 70-plus mph gust rocked Pottstown about 4 p.m., based on the time estimate, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly. And that would have coincided with the office's first "warning," issued at 4:02.

Earlier in the day, the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma advised that strong storms were a possibility in the region.

However, it held off on issuing a watch, since any storms likely would affect a relatively small geographic area, said Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist at the Mount Holly office.

In its 1:47 p.m. discussion, the Mount Holly office mentioned a "marginal risk" of severe storms as an upper-level feature approached, with the Poconos and North and Central New Jersey as the likeliest targets.

As it turned out, the bullseye was farther south, and the storm was slow to reveal its intentions on radar, Gaines said.

After it formed, it did indeed target a relatively confined area, but it happened to barrel through quite a dense population corridor.

A gust of 65 mph was reported in Fishtown, and 50 mph winds were common as the storm plowed eastward, finally reaching the Shore about 6:15 p.m..

Some Jerseyites got to witness a spectacular, other-worldly cloud formation.

Gaines said the formation was the result of a strong downdraft from the approaching storm that generated a powerful burst of air ahead of it.

It is not coincidence that the storms Tuesday and Wednesday fired up around the peak afternoon commuting period.

Thunderstorms feed on warm, rising air, and in summer all that daytime heating makes the air rise and expand like yeast in pizza dough. Severe storms can pop up almost any time the moisture is available.

More storms are possible Friday and Saturday.