2,100 outages reported in Berks following Wednesday evening downpours

Steven Henshaw, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·1 min read

Dec. 28—More than 2,100 Met-Ed customers were without power as of 8:30 a.m. Thursday as fallen trees and limbs brought down power lines during and after Wednesday night's heavy rainfall.

The largest outages as reported on the FirstEnergy website were 396 in Maxatawny Township, 238 in Greenwich Township, 236 in Robeson Township, 191 in Colebrookdale Township and more than 100 each in Cumru and Muhlenberg townships.

A total of 1.4 inches of rain was recorded on instruments at Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township, tying the official Berks County record for the date set in 1930, according to National Weather Service data.

It was the latest soaker of December, bringing the month's total to an astonishing 7.5 inches, which is 4.38 inches above normal.

Rain gauges operated by members of Berks Area Rainfall Network recorded more than 2 inches in several places, including Boyertown, 2.68 inches; New Morgan, 2.14 inches; Mertztown, 2.10 inches, Amity Gardens, 2.51 inches.

A flood watch is in effect in Berks and throughout southeast Pennsylvania through this evening due to the potential for streams to overflow from stormwater runoff.