Storms Take Down Trees, Leave Roads A Mess Around Chesco

TREDYFFRIN TOWNSHIP, PA — An intense storm tore through Chester County Wednesday night taking down trees and leaving some roads blocked and power lines down.

PECO reported 27 outages early Thursday, with over 400 customers impacted. PECO's reporting page said this is fewer than 5 percent of its customers in Chesco.

In Malvern, a downed tree is blocking Warren Avenue near Malvern Preparatory School, but removal awaits PECO's check on the wires, according to police. The tree that fell in Wednesday night's storm has been blocking Warren Avenue at First Avenue and at Paoli Pike, Malvern Borough Police reported.

Police said on Thursday morning there was access to the Malvern Retreat House and to Malvern Prep at 418 S. Warren Ave., from First Avenue.

Police told the community they are "waiting for PECO to respond for the wires, the tree can not be removed until they respond. Please be patient as PECO is backed up due to all of the storm damage in the area."

Chester County was one of 38 across Pennsylvania under a Tornado Watch on Wednesday night. The National Weather Service said on Thursday morning that it is surveying storm damage in Montgomery, Berks, and Bucks counties as well as in Morris County, NJ.

The NWS is investigating whether a tornado touched down along the border of Montgomery and Bucks counties with serious damage in the Souderton and Franconia area. Read that Patch story here.

The heavy thunderstorms had moved out north and east out of the greater Philadelphia region by 2 a.m., NWS reported with a reminder that flooding could follow the heavy rain in some areas.

Route 30 in Devon took a beating, and early Thursday morning debris on the road was slowing traffic as Tredyffrin Township Police Sgt. Allen Dori was seen out with a push broom clearing the worst of it from the busy thoroughfare.

Tredyffrin Township Police posted on social media, "Be careful on your morning commute and take extra time this AM as cleanup begins after last night's storm. There is debris through many roads in (Tredyffrin) Township ... on Rt. 30 between Grove Avenue and South Valley Forge Road in Devon. If you encounter barricades, do not attempt to go around them."