Fierce, but brief, thunderstorms strike and the show goes on
Even bad weather steps aside for Queen Bey. A thunderstorm promising heavy rains, lightning, winds, and hail instead hustled offstage in a matter of minutes Sunday evening, leaving cloudy but dry skies for tens of thousands who gathered at Lincoln Financial Field for Beyoncé's Formation World Tour.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/Y2NKYISKRVBY7MTACJHKUGUVVM.jpg)
Even bad weather steps aside for Queen Bey.
A thunderstorm promising heavy rains, lightning, winds, and hail instead hustled offstage in a matter of minutes Sunday evening, leaving cloudy but dry skies for tens of thousands who gathered at Lincoln Financial Field for Beyoncé's Formation World Tour.
The storm knocked out power for about 10,000 Peco customers, a large cluster of whom were in Chester County. It may have contributed to a car crash in Montgomery County, and it took out tree branches in Camden County, but across the region emergency responders reported relatively little harm done.
In New Jersey, about 5,000 lost power statewide, but by 10 p.m. all but 1,200 customers had been restored. Most still without power were in North Jersey.
About 6 p.m. Sunday, the skies darkened and a deluge opened up on Philadelphia, but within about 15 minutes sunlight was visible again. The National Weather Service reported wind speeds of 52 mph at Philadelphia International Airport, but less than half an inch of rain. Counters in Pottstown and Lancaster reported comparable precipitation. Two hours later, the storm had rumbled across New Jersey and was heading out to sea.
"This is kind of what we were expecting," said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Mount Holly station. "But we didn't have much in the way of thunderstorms ahead of the main line."
Beyoncé concert promoters said shortly after 5 p.m. that the 7:30 p.m. concert would take place as scheduled, but that "all seating areas will remain closed until conditions are deemed safe." People were allowed to enter the stadium at 5:30 p.m., but "must remain in the concourse until further notice. The safety of our guests is our number-one concern," officials posted on the Lincoln Financial Field Facebook page. In the end, the main attraction took the stage a little later than expected, but did so with a clear, glorious sunset as a backdrop.
Police and fire dispatchers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey reported no major incidents due to the inclement weather. The only possible weather-related accident on Sunday night was a vehicle that ran into a pole in Upper Providence. That crash sent three to the hospital by ambulance.
The National Weather Service had predicted that "some storms could be severe, with damaging winds, frequent lightning, and heavy rain." Wind gusts of up to 25 mph were possible, the NWS said.
Forecasters at AccuWeather had predicted the thunderstorms would hit Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., with a 90 percent chance of precipitation.
Sunday's severe-weather warnings, including the threat of lightning, canceled the last day of the Governors Ball Music Festival, featuring Kanye West and Death Cab for Cutie, at Randall's Island Park in New York City. Concert organizers promised refunds.
610-313-8109