'It's a mess': Wake of destruction left by powerful storms that triggered severe weather alerts
'It's a mess': Chadds Ford Fire Marshal comments on destruction left by powerful storms
A cluster of powerful storms rolled through parts of Pennsylvania on Monday, leaving a path of destruction and many without power. Chadds Ford Fire Marshal Phil Wenrich joined FOX 29's Chris O'Connell live on FOX 29 to discuss some of the destruction left around town.
PHILADELPHIA - A line of strong storms that triggered both tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings on Monday left behind a wake of destruction in parts of the Delaware Valley.
The severe weather advisories started to pop-up around 6 p.m., a short time after the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch for nearly the entire region.
The raucous storms brought drenching downpours and bouts of thunder and lightning. The most significant threat came with strong wind gusts that reportedly downed trees.
PECO reported more than 800 active outages Monday night, impacting nearly 74,000 customers in parts of southeastern Pennsylvania. Across the river, PSE&G is reporting just over 170 outages.
As of Tuesday morning, at least 50,000 homes were still without power across the region.
Several flights were either delayed, or canceled at Philadelphia International Airport due to Monday night's storms. Dozens more remained delayed Tuesday morning.
A massive tree fell onto a home in Chadds Ford when power storms rolled through the region.
Downed trees and structural damage suggest powerful wind gusts with tornadic potential. Surveyors from the National Weather Service confirmed straight line wind damage in Newark/Hockessin.
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania was among the areas that bore the brunt of Monday's storms. FOX 29's Chris O'Connell reported on couple was trapped inside their home when a large tree fell on it.
Fire Marshal Phil Wenrich told FOX 29's Chris O'Connell that a nearby home had its roof torn off, and several utility poles were "snapped."
"We're hoping to get crews out here to clean this up, but the problem is it's all through the county and the other counties as well, so the road crews are limited," Wenrich said. "It's a mess."
Wenrich added that PECO will need to shut off downed live wires before tree removal crews can begin removing downed trees and large limbs that are blocking major roadways around town.
There have not been any reported injuries or deaths.