Overview
- Storms that moved through Tuesday night produced damaging winds, heavy rain and large hail that toppled trees and damaged homes in South Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware.
- Thousands lost electricity after power lines were downed, with Chester County peaking at more than 20,000 customers without power and utility trackers showing widespread outages in the Mantua and Deptford areas.
- Local fire and public works crews worked through the night to clear blocked roads, respond to a house fire in Exeter Township that officials say may have been struck by lightning, and warned residents not to drive around barricades.
- Several school systems closed Wednesday because of damage and outages, including Mantua Township schools and a Wilmington charter school, with reopening decisions tied to cleanup and power restoration.
- The National Weather Service issued severe-weather products including a tornado warning with no confirmed touchdown and forecasters say the risk of additional severe storms continues into Wednesday night and Thursday, complicating recovery efforts.