MORE: 'We're safe. That's all that matters': Allentown neighbors pick up pieces from possible tornado
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Customers remain without power in the Lehigh and Northampton counties due to a severe thunderstorm Monday night.
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, 10,622 customers in Lehigh County have lost power, while Northampton County reported 6,304 customers in the dark.
The number has gone down from Monday night.
By 8 p.m. Monday, PPL Electric Utilities reported more than 35,000 customers had lost power, mostly in Allentown and Lehigh County; the situation was less dramatic in Northampton County as Met-Ed reported about 5,500 customers in the dark, including the Easton area and parts of Palmer Township.
- More than 16,000 customers in the Lehigh Valley are still living in the dark by 6 a.m. Tuesday after a severe thunderstorm moved through the area Monday night
- A tornado watch had been in effect in the Lehigh Valley and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic for hours
- The Midway Manor neighborhood in Allentown, just past the Bethlehem border, was hit hard
- Residents reported seeing a funnel cloud that twisted trees and tore down power lines
Musikfest also came to a screeching halt Monday night as a severe thunderstorm hammered parts of the Lehigh Valley.
The festival put a pause on all activities, suspending concerts and the main headline show by country singer Walker Hayes more than an hour before he was set to go on stage.
In Allentown, the Midway Manor neighborhood near the Allentown-Bethlehem border was hit hard. Witnesses reported trees down and split in half, a roof ripped off a shed and wires down and burning as of 8 p.m Monday.
The area of Van Buren and East Pennsylvania streets in Allentown appeared to be ground zero. Residents said they saw a tornado.
The Lehigh Valley and much of the Mid-Atlantic region had been under a tornado watch for hours.
WEATHER UPDATE: Thank you for your patience 'festers. We're almost back! Festival operations will resume at 8:40 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sb9AMflh1u
— Musikfest (@Musikfest) August 8, 2023
By 8 p.m. Monday, the storm had passed and neighbors in Midway Manor were out of their homes assessing damage.
Longtime resident Tim Washitzko said he saw the twister as it moved south to north through the neighborhood. Others said it came along the path of Union Boulevard, a main thoroughfare.
Midway Manor Park was littered with downed limbs and twisted trees.
The National Weather Service said it was too early to confirm if a twister indeed had touched down.
"We did not see any indications (of a tornado) in that area," said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey.
"It was a very strong line of thunderstorms. We’ll be collecting reports as we go through the night, because there’s a lot of damage throughout the area, and then we will take another look if it was straight-line winds or a tornado."
Getting multiple credible eyewitness accounts of an apparent tornado touchdown in East Allentown, PA near the Bethlehem, PA border with significant damage in the area 👀
— Bobby Martrich | EPAWA (@epawawx) August 8, 2023
However, meteorologist Bobby Martrich of EPAWA Weather Consulting, the main forecaster for Musikfest, said he saw the rotation on radar as he monitored the real-time weather closely for the music festival.
Johnson said any official word on a twister wouldn't come until officials could survey damage and make a determination Tuesday.
With the storm passed and thousands in Bethlehem for the music shows, Musikfest planned to resume activities at 8:40 p.m.
