Cleanup underway, outages linger after storm

Flood warnings remained in effect Thursday afternoon in parts of the region, with the Schuylkill at Norristown and the Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford sloshing over their banks.

Meanwhile a few thousand customers remained without power, the aftermath of potent thunderstorms that thrashed the region, bringing heavy rain and damanging winds to the area.

A gust of 63 mph was reported in Elverson, Chester County, and the storm knocked down trees and power lines.

There were reports of motorists stranded in high water, and police departments were urging drivers to be on the lookout for roads blocked by water or wires.

SEPTA, meanwhile, said Regional Rail riders should expect short cars, overcrowding and delays due to damage from the storms. And an emergency schedule was in place on PATCO due to weather-related track damage, with trains scheduled to run every 20 minutes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

At Philadelphia International Airport, several dozen flights were delayed or canceled.

Other damage reported around the area included large trees toppling into a Cheltenham home and a daycare center in Vineland.

Utility companies were reporting about 15,000 outages as of early Thursday morning. The bulk of those affected - about 8,700 homes and businesses - are Peco customers.

Rain pounded the area Wednesday, with 1.91 inches officially recorded at Philadelphia International Airport by midnight. That set a record for the date, besting the previous Feb. 24 record of 1.84 inches, set in 1976.

The Schuylkill at Norristown was at 13.79 feet just before noon; flood stage is 13. The Brandywine at Chadds Ford was at 11.54; flood stage is 9.

Flood alerts were in place into the morning, as some creeks and streams remained at or above flood stage, according to the National Weather Service.

Continued scattered wind gusts of up to 45 mph are possible throughout the day, the weather service said.

A tornado watch was in place for a period Wednesday night.

The National Weather Service said a storm survey team determined that an EF-2 force tornado had touched down in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Thursday aftenoon, damaging a barn. An EF-2 twister packs winds of at least 111 mph.