A line of severe thunderstorms is moving through the Lehigh Valley on Friday afternoon, leading to the temporary suspension of Musikfest.

Lehigh and Northampton counties were under a severe thunderstorm warning until 5 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and pea-sized hail were possible as storms moved through, according to the National Weather Service.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Bethlehem PA, Easton PA and Hopatcong NJ until 5:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/PyyBRLdu8w

— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) August 7, 2026

Damage to roofs, siding, trees, and power lines was possible, the weather service warned.

As the storms moved in, Musikfest announced it was temporarily suspending all festival activities. In a social media post, organizers urged festivalgoers to get to a safe place.

Musikfest said it would post further updates on reopening.

❗️WEATHER UPDATE❗️

Musikfest is temporarily shutting down due to the threat of Severe Weather.  Please take the necessary precautions to secure everything and get to a safe place.  Stay tuned for further updates on reopening.

— Musikfest (@Musikfest) August 7, 2026

Torrential rain from some of the storms prompted flash flood warnings in areas. One of those warnings was in effect for northeastern Northampton and east central Monroe counties until 8 p.m. A separate warning was issued for northwestern Lehigh and northeastern Berks counties until 8:15 p.m.

Rainfall amounts between 0.5 and 1.5 inches had already fallen, with another 1.5 to 2.5 inches possible, the weather service said just before 4:30 p.m. Flash flooding was either occurring or expected to begin shortly in the warned areas, particularly along small creeks and roads, as well as in low lying, urban and poor drainage areas.

A water rescue was under way along the Lehigh River at Canal Park in Allentown around 4:30 p.m., according to emergency radio dispatches. Two people were on a raft in the river stranded due to the rough waters. They were later able to get out of the water and onto a small island in the river further downstream, according to reports.

Wind from the storm knocked down some trees and utility poles across the region, though no widespread outages were reported. As of 4:30 p.m., PPL was reporting around 900 outages in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Power was reported to be out at the Airport Shopping Center off Airport Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

The region remains under a severe thunderstorm watch through Friday evening.

Friday’s storms came as the region has endured several days of heat and humidity.

More showers and thunderstorms are expected again Saturday as Musikfest enters its final weekend. The final day of the festival on Sunday is expected to be clear, according to the forecast.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.