Thunderstorms and heavy rain are moving through the Lehigh Valley again Wednesday evening, bringing more power outages and leading to flash flooding.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning until 11:30 p.m. for northeastern Lehigh, northern Northampton, southeastern Carbon and southern Monroe counties.
So far, between 1 and 3 inches of rain has fallen across those areas, with an additional 1 to 2 inches possible over an hour, according to the weather service.
Earlier, the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning until 8 p.m. for Lehigh and southern Northampton counties.
Just after 7 p.m., severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Claussville to near Fleetwood, moving east at 40 mph, according to the warning. The storm was capable of producing 60 mph wind gusts and damage to trees and power lines.
An earlier storm prompted a severe thunderstorm warning until 7:15 p.m. for northwestern Lehigh, eastern Carbon and southwestern Monroe counties until 7:15 p.m.
Just after 6:30 p.m., a severe storm was over Lehighton and moving northeast at 40 mph, according to National Weather Service radar. The storm was capable of producing 60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail, according to the warning.
Minor damage to vehicles was possible from the hail, and wind damage could lead to downed trees and power lines, according to the warning.
A severe thunderstorm watch for the region has been extended until 10 p.m.
About 7,750 residents lost power Tuesday night when storms made their way through the Lehigh Valley . By about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, about 850 people in the Lehigh Valley remained without power, according to PPL’s outage map.
However, as the new round of thunderstorms moved through Wednesday evening, the outages creeped up to more than 1,000 as of 8:30 p.m.
Jane George, a PPL spokesperson, said about 8,000 customers between Lehigh and Northampton counties lost power following Tuesday’s storm. Officials estimate power will be restored for most by 3 p.m. Some areas have an estimated restoration time of 11 p.m.
George said PPL is making sure they are staffed and ready to respond to any additional outages that could come from more storms Wednesday.
Wednesday is the third day in a row of temperatures in the 90s. Tuesday, which had a recorded high of 96, marked the warmest day of the month in the Lehigh Valley. The warmest day of the year for the region was June 22, which had a recorded high of 98, according to weather service data.
Temperatures are expected to drop and remain in the 80s through the next several days. Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 88.
Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
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