Tornado watches, power outages accompany storm through Philadelphia and region

Apr. 13--Tornado watches were issued for the Philadelphia region through 6 p.m. Monday as high winds and heavy rain toppled trees and cut off power to thousands of customers.

By noon, utilities were reporting downed trees and scattered outages across southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey, and tornado watches were issued for Philadelphia and for about half of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

In addition, tornado watches were issued for all of South Jersey until 6 p.m., including the shore counties, according to the National Weather Service.

Damage was reported at Cape May's historic Congress Hall hotel, where photos posted on social media showed a portion of the roof sheared off. The hotel had been closed until May 22 due to the coronavirus shutdown.

PECO spokesperson Kristina Pappas reported 95 outages across the region around 10:30 a.m., from Pottstown to Levittown, impacting about 1,800 customers, including 1,000 in Montgomery County and 200 in Philadelphia. "This is out of 1.6 million customers served across our territory," she noted.

In New Jersey, Atlantic Electric reported 21,483 customers without power, and Public Service Electric & Gas reported 12,000 of its 2.4 million electric customers without service, including 3,367 in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties.

PSE&G said crews could not work in bucket trucks to repair damage and restore outages until the high winds subsided.

In Atlantic City, wind gusts ripped sheet metal from the side of the old Trump Plaza, the crumbling empty casino and high-rise hotel building owned by billionaire Carl Icahn that is slated for demolition.

In Cape May, photos were posted that showed damage to a portion of Congress Hall from wind that appeared to pull off a piece of the roof. Other damage was reported to the popular Carney's bar and restaurant on Beach Avenue, where a portion of the second floor balcony appeared to have been torn off by a piece of roof, all landing in a heap at ground level.

Carolinn Pocher Woody, who lives near Congress Hall in Cape May, said there were downed trees throughout the Victorian resort, and that she had seen damage at a boarding house on Decatur Street. A huge cedar on Perry Street had been downed by the storm. She estimated periods of sustained winds approaching 70 mph.

"There's a lot of damage," she said. "The roof is off Congress Hall, and portions of the Carney's roof are off and in the street."

Her aunt lives next door to Congress Hall and her second story porch doors had blown wide open, Pocher Woody said.

In Wildwood, police were asking residents to stay off the roads until the storm passes so the streets can be cleaned up. "There are numerous down wires, poles and debris in the roadway making it dangerous to be driving at this time," the police department stated.

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly warned Monday morning of "dangerous wind gusts" of up to 70 mph moving across Delaware and Maryland that were moving toward the Philadelphia region.

The service said there were reports of trees falling, especially in the Philadelphia area. "With the heavy rainfall, the ground is waterlogged and trees will be more susceptible to falling," the weather service said in a tweet.

"Prepare for power outages!" it warned.

At the Shore, winds picked up before noon, upending garbage cans, porch furniture, and lumber meant for new second homes along the beach. Sustained winds reached 70 mph between 11 a.m. and 11:30, according to a site that monitors winds along the coast.

In Camden, the COVID-19 testing site located at Cooper's Poynt Waterfront Park in Camden was closed due to the storm. Patients were asked to visit one of the other clinic sites operated by Cooper University Health Care or Virtua Health until the site reopens for its normal operating hours on Tuesday.

The weather service issued a high wind warning for South Jersey, Philadelphia, and its suburbs, the Jersey shore and northern Delaware, with winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts of up to 60 mph expected.

It said widespread power outages were to be expected as the winds will blow down trees and power lines. The winds were expected to be highest from late morning into the afternoon Monday, with possible thunderstorms resulting in higher wind gusts.

The weather service cautioned that people should avoid being around trees and branches and, if possible, remain in the lower levels of homes and away from windows during the windstorm.

Inquirer staff writer Joseph A. Gambardello contributed to this article.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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