Only a few showers and a chance of storms seem to stand in York County's way to a pleasant weekend, according to Craig Evanego, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.
"Right now, we're starting to think that the worst of the storms might go south of us," he said, noting Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as cities that could get hit hard.
But York can expect to see some showers or storms from the late afternoon -- around 4 or 5 p.m. -- on, Evanego said. Conditions should start improving later this evening, he said.
"Once we get that out of here, it looks like a decent weekend," Evanego said.
Previously reported: A severe thunderstorm rolled through York County from 8 to 9 a.m. Thursday,
toppling trees and leaving thousands without power.
Although the storms blew through fairly quickly, similar storms could pummel the area this afternoon and evening, said Craig Evanego, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.
"We don't get two rounds of severe weather too often, but today could be one of those days," he said.
A moderate thunderstorm risk continues throughout Thursday, Evanego said.
"Usually in Pennsylvania, we'll only see slight risks," he said.
There is also a risk of high winds, hail and even an isolated tornado in the afternoon, he said.
Outages: More than 8,500 York County residents were without power as of 9 a.m., and Met-Ed reported outages could also be high in the afternoon when a second wave of storms is expected pound the region.
Met-Ed meteorologists were expecting more storms to move through the midstate between 2 and 10 p.m.
The energy provider is preparing for the storms by getting additional crews ready - including contract workers - to repair damage caused by heavy winds, said Met-Ed spokesman Scott Surgeoner.
Crews will work throughout the day, as long as there's no lightning, to restore power, he said.
Areas hardest hit by the Thursday morning outages included Springettsbury Township, with 1,130 customers without power, followed by West Manchester Township with 1,106, Dover Borough with 1,096 and Dover Township with 907 outages.
Most outages were caused by heavy winds knocking down trees, branches and power lines, Surgeoner said.
Met-Ed expected to have power restored to those customers by mid-morning.
But it may only be on for a short time.
"It's quite possible those same customers will be without power again this afternoon when the second wave of storms hits," Surgeoner said. "Our meteorologists said the storms we are expecting this afternoon and evening will be severe enough to knock out power again."
The energy provider serves nearly 172,000 customers in York County.
The damage: County-wide there were several reports of down trees and wires, as well as localized flooding on certain roads, said county spokesman Carl Lindquist.
Most of the reports of damages the county received were from York City and areas around it, he said.
By Friday, the storms should move out of the area and sunny skies should return.
"Tomorrow we should see improving conditions," Evanego said. "It looks like improvement heading into the weekend." Friday could see a shower or two, and Saturday and Sunday's high pressure could produce a good amount of sunshine and seasonal temperatures, said Bill Deger, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com in State College.
