Thousands of Lehigh Valley residents remained without power through early Saturday afternoon, a day after high winds damaged trees and utility lines around the region.
As of around noon Saturday, PPL’s map for power outages reported 1,220 affected customers in Lehigh County and 768 in Northampton County. FirstEnergy, the parent company of Lehigh Valley provider Met-Ed, reported on its website 1,252 affected customers in Northampton County.
By Saturday evening, total outages across the Lehigh Valley were down to around 1,200.
At the peak of the outages Friday, more than 12,000 customers in the Lehigh Valley lost power.
In a written statement, PPL spokesperson Jane George said Saturday morning that 101,000 customers have experienced a power outage and that restoration could continue into the weekend. She also provided safety tips such as avoiding downed wires, using flashlights instead of candles, and not using portable generators in enclosed areas.
Met-Ed said Saturday morning on Facebook that the severe weather disrupted power to nearly 51,000 total customers over its service region and that they’ll continue to provide updates for specific locations on its outage map. The FirstEnergy website estimates full power restoration by Sunday afternoon.
“Strong winds caused extensive damage, including fallen trees, broken poles and downed wires, especially in the hardest‑hit areas of the Lehigh Valley,” Met-Ed said. “Crews alongside our sister companies and additional contractor teams are on-site providing support and damage assessments are actively underway.”
The National Weather Service reported peak wind gusts on Friday of a little over 60 mph in Lehigh and Northampton counties, specifically at Queen City Airport in Allentown and in Forks Township.
The weather service predicts that winds will slow down and range between 5 and 15 mph through Monday.
Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 37. South wind around 5 mph.
Saturday night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 30. South wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 42. West wind 5 to 15 mph.
Sunday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 23. Northwest wind around 10 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 37. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Monday night: A chance of snow after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Tuesday: A chance of rain and snow before 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 43.
Wednesday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30.
Thursday: A chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 48. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Thursday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54.