A violent thunderstorm struck Fountain Hill and other parts of the Lehigh Valley as the Thursday morning rush hour was taking place, leaving downed trees, wires and other damage in its wake.
The storm arrived around 8:30 a.m., shortly after the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Lehigh and Northampton counties, as many drivers were on the road headed to work or school.
The 8:23 a.m. alert noted that penny-sized hail and 60 mph wind gusts had already been observed and that “damage to roofs, siding, trees and power lines is possible.”
In Fountain Hill, local emergency officials said the storm apparently produced a microburst with straight line winds that brought down trees and wires onto vehicles and roadways. Much of the damage appeared to have occurred in a line that cut through the center of the borough, which slopes downward from a higher elevation from west to east.
The 1100 block of Broadway between N. Hoffert and N. Bergen streets was temporarily closed when wires fell on the road. Nearby, a section of vinyl vencing was blown out and a gazebo collapsed.
Other trees and wires were brought down in the surrounding neighborhoods, and a significant amount of trash that was left out for pickup by garbage haulers was strewn across streets and yards.
In Lower Saucon Township, police said that as of late Thursday morning Saucon Valley Road was closed between Bingen and Weyhill Farm roads due to downed wires, with a utility crew notified. According to a post on the Lower Saucon Township Police Department’s Crimewatch site, other roads closed in Lower Saucon as of 11:30 a.m. included Crestline Drive between Williams Church and Lower Saucon roads, Silver Creek Road between Reservoir and Lower Saucon roads, Saucon Valley Road between Bingen Road and Apple Tree Lane, Springtown Hill Road between Orchards and Lower Saucon roads, Bergstresser Drive between Wassergass Road and Drifting Drive, and Countryside Lane between Easton and Applebutter roads.
Despite the widespread damage, PPL reported only isolated power outages affecting clusters of 100 or fewer customers across southern Northampton and southern Lehigh counties. However, further north along the Rt. 22 corridor, thousands of PPL customers were without electricity, primarily in the city of Allentown, South Whitehall Township and Whitehall Township.
As of approximately 11 a.m., nearly 10,000 customers were without power in the Allentown area alone, according to PPL.
Police officers and firefighters talk in the 1100 block of Broadway, which was closed after a wire fell onto it during a violent thunderstorm Thursday morning.
An Eastern Salisbury Fire Company rescue vehicle barricades Broadway at N. Bergen Street in Fountain Hill after a tree and wires fell onto the roadway during a storm that produced straight line winds of up to 60 mph.
Wires and debris can be seen in the road in the 1200 block of Broadway in Fountain Hill following a violent storm that moved through the area around 8:30 a.m.
A Fountain Hill police vehicle blocks traffic in the 1100 block of Broadway Thursday morning. A violent thunderstorm thrashed the borough, bringing trees and wires down onto roads.
A Fountain Hill first responder directs motorists away from a section of Broadway that was temporarily closed due to storm-related damage Thursday morning.
A large branch blocks the driveway in front of a garage in Fountain Hill, following Thursday morning’s storm.
Residents survey a downed tree at Delaware Avenue and N. Bergen Street in Fountain Hill Thursday morning.
In some cases, loaded garbage cans that were left at the curb for Thursday morning pickup were blown over by the storm’s straight line winds. As a result, some streets and yards in Fountain Hill were left covered in garbage.
Trash covers N. Hoffert Street near Delaware Avenue in Fountain Hill following the storm.
A cigarette disposal receptacle blown away by the storm sits in the middle of N. Hoffert Street near Seneca Street in Fountain Hill.
A gazebo was toppled by severe winds in the back yard of a home in the 1100 block of Broadway in Fountain Hill.
A section of vinyl fencing was blown out by severe winds that struck the 1100 block of Broadway in Fountain Hill during a storm Thursday morning.
A piece of aluminum blown off a building rests against the front tire of a vehicle parked on a side street in Fountain Hill.
Unaware or unconcerned motorists on their way to work or school drive over a wire laying across Broadway in Fountain Hill before it was closed by authorities who responded to the scene Thursday morning.
A piece of aluminum soffit or siding blown off a building by the storm rests against against a shrub in front of a property in the 1100 block of Delaware Avenue in Fountain Hill.
