Straight Line Winds To Blame For Croydon Storm Damage

Winds gusted to more than 60 mph during Sunday evening’s thunderstorm that caused damage throughout Bristol Township’s Croydon and Newportville sections.

Meteorologist Jonathan O’Brien, who works at the National Weather Service Office in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, said forecasters have determined the damage was caused by straight line winds.

While Sunday evening’s storm was more disorganized than last week’s storms that caused flash flooding and some damage throughout the county, Sunday’s winds still packed a punch that caused significant damage that emergency officials said focused on a roughly half-mile area.

Five homes had threes fall on them and three were condemned due to the damage. A fourth damaged home will be examined by a building inspector on Monday, Fire Marshal Kevin Dippolito said.

At the Croydon Mini Mart at Route 13 and Newportville Road, the rubber deck roof was blown off the building, damaging at least one apartment.

Despite the widespread damage that brought rain, hail, and high winds, no injuries were reported.

The American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania said they were assisting 10 families that totaled 17 adults and nine kids.

While just over 900 PECO customers were in the dark late Sunday night, the majority of customers had service return by Monday morning.

Bristol Township Public Works Departments and PennDOT crews spent Sunday night clearing local roads. One of the worst hit streets was Newportville Road. It was littered with multiple downed trees and limbs that blocked traffic.

Fire crews went street to street in Croydon checking for additional damage and reporting it back to a temporary command posted staffed by Dippolito and fire officials at the CVS at Route 13 and Newportville Road late into Sunday night.

On Monday morning, private contractors took to multiple homes throughout Croydon to continue the clean-up process.

O’Brien said damage similar to that caused by the storm in Croydon is not uncommon with severe thunderstorms.