Heavy rain and wind from a powerful nor'easter whipped across Lancaster County Saturday morning, knocking down trees and power lines, disrupting electric service to as many as 6,000 homes and businesses here and closing a Willow Street supermarket.

Sustained winds hit speeds of as much as 30 mph and gusts of 44 miles per hour at Lancaster Airport at the peak of the wind storm shortly before 8 a.m. The Millersville University Weather Center recorded sustained winds of up to 26 mph.

Wind damages roof of Weis Markets at Kendig Square

PPL Electric placed its crews in a state of storm emergency beginning at 1 a.m.

An online map posted by the utility showed numerous trouble spots throughout its service area, and new outages were still being logged Saturday evening.

According to a statement released by the utility, the counties with the most damage included Bucks, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery and Northampton.

Crews had restored power to more than 25,500 customers by 8 p.m. Saturday and were working to help about 23,160 more. The job was expected to continue today.

About 850 local customers were still without electricity Saturday evening, according to PPL spokesman Don Stringfellow.

"It seems Lancaster and Harrisburg were pretty hard hit," said Stringfellow, noting that blackouts are typically caused by debris falling on wires ... "the wind blowing over trees and breaking off dead branches ... anything that's not tied down."

A large tree felled wires when it toppled across Wheatland Avenue, near Gordon Road, around 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

Another tree was reported to have crashed onto a house in the first block of Chestnut Street, Adamstown, Saturday evening.

A fire at the top of a utility pole ignited the branches of a tree in the 1000 block of Nissley Road, East Hempfield Township, at 6:40 p.m. Saturday. The incident and several others like it were thought to be weather related, a county fire dispatcher said.

Local trees grow to be more resistant to the prevailing winds, which are from the west, according to a weather blog post by Millersville University meteorologist Eric Horst. Trees were more susceptible to the winds from this storm, which were from the east.

At the Kendig Square shopping center, near Willow Street, the gale forced the 24-hour Weis Market to close shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday.

The wind got beneath the store's rolled rubber roofing and lifted it up as much as 10 feet, said Mike Fawber, assistant chief of Willow Street Fire Company.

The air under the rubber gave the building the appearance of having a large bubble on the roof, one observer said.

Some rain leaked into the store, but there was not much water or significant damage inside, said Andy Stevig, Weis Markets district manager.

The wind lifted refrigeration and HVAC units, Fawber said.

The market was closed for customer safety while roofers reinstalled the rubber and refrigeration crews checked connections, Stevig said.

The store reopened at 12:15 p.m.

The bad weather canceled the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown York.

Winds here were expected to slacken overnight, said AccuWeather meteorologist Alan Reppert in State College, but showers will linger into Monday. (For the seven-day forecast, please turn to Page A12.)

In western Pennsylvania, Reppert added, "they're going to see some possible flooding due to snow melt."

A National Weather Service flood watch was in effect for Lancaster and nearby counties until midnight Sunday. Residents were advised to look out for flooding along small streams and in poor drainage areas.

Just under an inch of rain was recorded by the MU Weather Center between 2 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.

According to AccuWeather, Columbia received the most rain of any local community, 1.18 inches, in the 24-hour-period ending at 7 p.m. Saturday.

A county radio supervisor said Saturday evening that no flooding had been reported.

Water spreading into low-lying areas reportedly closed a few streets in Philadelphia.

The nor'easter shifted to the New York City–Boston corridor Saturday night. It was predicted to lash New England with high wind and rain — and wet snow in higher elevations — today. Gusts near 70 mph are on tap for Cape Cod, according to The Weather Channel.

The low is on track to exit out to sea by late Monday, ushering in a more serene period.

Reppert predicted a seasonable high of 50 degrees here today. Clearer skies and highs climbing into the mid to upper 50s are in the offing this week.

Some forecasters on the Web were calling for more rain next weekend but Reppert could not confirm that.

It's too early to tell, he said.

bharris@lnpnews.com; jrutter@lnpnews.com