Severe Storms Knock Out SEPTA Service, Philadelphia Weather Delays Reach Hour
Late Wednesday afternoon, philadelphia weather turned disruptive for SEPTA riders as severe storms took down trees and wires, knocked out service on two regional rail lines, and triggered systemwide delays of up to an hour. Andrew Busch, a SEPTA spokesperson, said the storm’s winds knocked out service on the Paoli-Thorndale and West Trenton lines.
At least four trees came down along SEPTA’s rails, and flash flooding near the Jenkintown rail station added to the disruption. Flooding on I-476 near the Broomall-Upper Darby exit also led to lane restrictions, putting more pressure on travel during the peak commuting period.
Andrew Busch On SEPTA Lines
Busch said the rail damage affected multiple parts of the system at once, with trees and wires both coming down as the storms moved through. SEPTA warned riders to expect delays across the network rather than on a single line.
The interruption came after a stretch of unusual heat in Philadelphia. The city reached 98 degrees the day before Wednesday, a record for all of May, then hit 95 degrees on Wednesday and set the record for May 20.
Eric Hoeflich Forecast
Eric Hoeflich, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly, said computer models on significant rain into Thursday looked “bullish.” He also said, “Saturday looks like the worst day of the holiday weekend” and described the period this way: “It’s going to be rainy, windy, raw.”
The forecast called for some rain every day through Monday, with Thursday’s high likely just after midnight and afternoon temperatures in the low and mid-60s. More showers were expected Friday, with highs in the 60s, and Saturday was expected to stay in the 50s in Philadelphia, with AccuWeather calling for a high of 54.
Memorial Day Weekend Weather
Chadd Merrill, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., said Saturday’s high would be 2 degrees below the record-low maximum for May 23, 56 degrees, “if it’s rainy and it stays cloudy and dreary the entire time.” Temperatures were expected to return to the 70s by Memorial Day, but the immediate issue for commuters was the storm damage already on the rails and the delays it created.
