Thousands remain without power in Lehigh Valley on Friday after storm

Thousands of people are still without power Friday morning in the Lehigh Valley, more than a day after a storm made its way through the area.

At about 8:45 a.m., PPL reported about 3,232 people without power in Lehigh County and about 1,975 people without power in Northampton County. The bulk of those outages appeared to be in Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township and Lower Saucon Township.

The company estimated most outages will be restored by 3 p.m. Friday. Some have an estimated restoration time of 11 p.m. or 3 p.m. Saturday.

PPL spokesperson Tracie Witter said Friday morning that 994 additional line workers are helping crews restore the power. They are working around the clock, she said.

PPL announced on its website that customers without power for 24 hours or more can purchase ice and water at the utility’s expense if they send in their receipts. The purchases will be credited to the customer’s account. Customers are limited to a maximum of three 10-pound bags of ice and three gallons of water per day.

At that same time, Met-Ed reported about 1,438 people without power in Northampton County. Easton, Forks Township, Palmer Township and Williams Township appeared to have the most outages.

Todd Meyers, a Met-Ed spokesman, said crews are making solid headway restoring the power. There were 4,000 residents without power in Northampton County Thursday night, and more than half of them had their power restored by Friday morning.

The majority of Met-Ed customers should have their power back by 11 p.m., he said.

A storm made its way through the Lehigh Valley about 7 p.m. Wednesday. It brought high winds and heavy rainfall. It dropped just over half an inch of rain, according to weather service data. The storm brought downed trees, causing power outages and road closures in both counties.

At one point Wednesday night, 60,000 people were without power. By Thursday morning, about 30,000 people still did not have power. Officials from both companies said crews were out Thursday assessing damage and restoring power.

Despite the outages, no major damage was reported in Lehigh or Northampton counties.

Even after the storm, June remains the driest month of the year so far. The Lehigh Valley has only seen 1.32 inches of rain this month, according to National Weather Service data. Rain is possible again this weekend.

Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:

Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8 p.m. Low around 74. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Sunday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 8 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 81.

Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 59.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 85.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.

Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 93.