Electricity, transit suffer as rain falls hard and fast

A dastardly thunderstorm wreaked havoc on the morning rush hour yesterday, dumping more than an inch of rain on the city and surrounding counties, and possibly creating a short-lived twister.

Luckily for most, very few signs of the fast-moving storm were still visible by the evening rush hour, according to SEPTA and PennDOT, which reported no major problems. But for some unlucky homeowners in Delaware and Chester counties, the lights remained out last evening. As many as 5,000 homes lost power yesterday morning.

“A lot of trees and tree limbs came down due to the storm, especially the rain,” said PECO spokesman Ben Armstrong.

The rain also pushed a major roadway underwater. Emergency officials closed Interstate 76 eastbound near Belmont Avenue around 9 a.m. due to flooding, while the City Avenue ramp was closed from about 12:40 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. SEPTA reported delays on all Regional Rail routes and some trolleys. PECO also reported scattered outages in Delaware and Chester counties.

The wet weather hasn’t left just yet. Showers and thunderstorms were expected overnight and possibly today with a high temperature around 90 degrees.