Thunderstorm, Heavy Winds Pummel Lower Merion; Outages, Storm Damage Linger

LOWER MERION, PA — Storm damage and power outages continue to linger Monday in Lower Merion after a "microburst" in the township pushed 70 mph gusts during Saturday's heavy storms, officials said.

Saturday's thunderstorms brought at least four microbursts — an air column that's pushed downward during a thunderstorm, which then bursts heavy wind in all directions — to the Philadelphia area, according to the National Weather Service.

The first recorded microburst happened at 2:44 p.m. in Lower Merion, pushing gusts of 60 to 70 mph gusts that caused power outages while damaging trees and infrastructure.

At least 55 Lower Merion roadways were still at least partially blocked by trees as of Sunday morning, when the township lifted a state of emergency.

Nearly 7,500 lost power — about a third of the township. There are currently 1,484 homes and buildings without power as of Monday morning, according to PECO.

Residents without power can go to any Lower Merion firehouse to cool off and charge their devices.

Lower Merion's ban on gas leaf blower use has been suspended through Saturday as residents, contractors and township crews clear storm debris.