A ferocious storm Saturday afternoon into early Sunday morning ended with a small-scale earthquake in the Lehighton area.

The U.S. Geological Service said a 1.8 magnitude earthquake happened at 12:32 a.m. Sunday about 2.5 miles northwest of Lehighton.

That was just hours after thunderstorms and heavy rains moved through the area, knocking out power and knocking down tree limbs.

Peyton Simmers, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, said the storms that came through Saturday afternoon into Saturday evening produced a widespread amount of damage, with multiple wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph down toward Berks County and Philadelphia, and the highest wind gusts in Pittsburgh in excess of 80 mph, which brought a lot of trees down, power lines down.

Simmers said that the 1.8 magnitude earthquake is weak on the Richter scale.

“They don’t tend to cause much damage at all, not enough to do any sort of damage,” Simmers said. “Earthquakes in the Northeast are generally rare compared to out west.”

Simmers cited the Ramapo Fault System that was responsible for the strong magnitude earthquake event in New Jersey in 2024, and added the earthquake that took place early Sunday morning was no where near as strong as that.

“Typically quakes around here are not big to cause a lot of damage; you might feel a little bit of shaking,” he said. “This one didn’t cause anything really to be noticeable.”

Simmers noted that the hot, humid conditions were followed by thunderstorms before a cold front came through Saturday into Sunday, but added the earthquake and storms don’t correlate with each other.

“The storms did not cause the earthquake in this case,” he said. “It just happened to be one of those coincidental things.”

Simmers said after a nice start, the humidity is expected to return later this week.

He said that while today figures to be the nicest day of the week with low humidity, that will change as the week progresses.

“It’s going to be more summer like,” Simmers said. “The humidity is really going to creep up.”

With that, he said there’s the potential for some thunderstorms Wednesday through Friday.

“Some thunderstorms could turn severe, flooding downpours, damaging winds,” Simmers said. “The greatest threat of severe weather is Friday (where a cold front comes through that could cause), some damaging winds, flooding downpours, maybe some hail could accompany that.”

Jane George, Regional Affairs director, PPL, said, “Summer weather in Pennsylvania can be strong, severe and sudden, and recent storms are an important reminder for customers to be prepared before bad weather arrives.

“At PPL Electric Utilities, preparation is a year-round effort,” George said. “We continually work to strengthen the grid, trim trees and vegetation near power lines, invest in smarter grid technology and plan for storm response, so our crews are ready when severe weather affects our communities.

“While we never want any customer to be without power, storms can bring high winds, heavy rain, lightning and fallen trees that damage electric equipment. When that happens, our focus is on responding safely, restoring service as quickly as possible and keeping customers informed throughout the process.”

George said PPL also encourages customers to take steps now to prepare for summer storms and stay safe if outages occur:

• Stay connected: Sign up for outage alerts at pplelectric.com/alerts and download the PPL Electric mobile app to report outages, track restoration progress and access important service information.

• Know how to report an outage: Customers can report outages online, through the mobile app or by texting “Outage” to TXTPPL (898775).

• Build an emergency kit: Keep flashlights, batteries, bottled water, nonperishable food, medications, pet supplies and other essentials in an easy-to-access location.

• Charge devices early: If severe weather is forecast, charge cellphones, tablets, portable chargers and other important electronics before the storm arrives.

• Stay away from downed wires: Always assume a downed wire is energized. Stay far away and report it immediately to PPL Electric or local emergency responders.

• Use generators safely: Never operate a portable generator inside a home, garage or enclosed space where carbon monoxide can build up.

• Use flashlights instead of candles: Candles can create a fire risk during an outage.

• Check on others: Look in on older family members, neighbors and anyone who may need extra help before, during or after a storm.

• Plan for medical needs: Anyone who depends on electricity for medical equipment should have a backup plan in place and call 911 in an emergency.

“Storms can develop quickly, especially during the summer, so the best time to prepare is before the forecast turns severe,” she said. “We encourage customers to use the tools available to them, stay alert to changing weather conditions and make safety their top priority.”