Thunderstorm strands vehicles, knocks out power for 2,000 in Berks

Thunderstorm strands vehicles, knocks out power for 2,000 in Berks

Vehicles were stranded in floodwaters and about 2,000 people had no power across Berks County after a thunderstorm Thursday afternoon. Heavy rains and winds during the brief downpour Thursday took down trees and wires and flooded roadways, with multiple water rescues reported in the Reading area. The storm dropped between 1 and 2 inches of rain in Berks early Thursday afternoon, with rain falling at an estimated rate of 1.5 to 3 inches per hour,…

Heavy rain triggers flash flooding, strands vehicles across Berks County

A line of slow-moving thunderstorms brought torrential rain to Berks County Thursday afternoon, triggering a Flash Flood Warning and leaving several roadways under water. Reading set a new daily rainfall record for Thursday, July 31, with 2.68 inches measured as of 5 p.m., breaking the previous record of 2.56 inches set in 1887. In one of the most intense downpours of the day, a Keystone Mesonet site at Penn State Berks recorded 3.32 inches of r…