Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, June 1, 1998

A squall line of severe thunderstorms caused wind damage in nearly every township in Delaware County and hit the western part of the county the hardest. The hardest hit townships were Aston, Bethel and Concord. About 30 homes suffered minor damage. The worst damage occurred to the cabins at Camp Sunshine in Thornbury Township. A few were either badly damaged or destroyed. Emergency personnel responded to over 250 calls during the first hour after the storm hit alone. There were over 230 calls for tree removals throughout the county. About 100,000 PECO Energy customers lost power throughout the county, second only to Chester County for this event. About 2,000 customers also lost use of their phones and 20,000 cable subscribers lost that service. U.S. Route 1 was closed due to downed trees as were Pennsylvania State Routes 320, 352 and 452. Many school districts cancelled classes on June 1st.In Thornbury Township, Camp Sunshine was hit hard. Uprooted trees destroyed one cabin, badly damaged two others and caused roof damage to ten others. A trampoline was carried one mile away. Several major roads were closed. In Concord Township and Chester Heights Borough, nearly every road was closed. In Middletown Township rows of trees were knocked down. At the Hidden Hollow Swim Club alone about a dozen trees were knocked down including a 300-year-old beech tree. In Bethel Township, numerous trees were uprooted along Garnet Mine Road. In Chester City, a nine block stretch from Parkside through Chester Park had numerous downed trees and power lines. Some of the trees were more than 200 years old. Trees damaged homes in Springfield and Ridley Townships. In Marple Township, the Evergreen Club Apartments were described as a shamble with numerous trees and wires down. Some trees crashed into the building. Downed trees and road closures were also reported in the following municipalities: Aston, Brookhaven, Chichester, Haverford, Media, Nether Providence, Radnor, Ridley Park, Swarthmore and Yeadon.PECO Energy reported 100,000 customers lost power in Delaware County. Fourteen thousand still did not have power the morning of June 2nd. Power was not completely restored until the morning of June 4th. It was the worst non-winter storm in PECO Energy's 50 year history and the fourth worst overall. According to their lightning detection system, there were 7,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes in their service area as this line of thunderstorms moved through. More than 350 poles were damaged and they distributed 365,000 pounds of dry ice.