Storm

In the days before Bertha hit the Carolinas, forecasters and residents watched closely as the storm spun through the Caribbean. While the fading storm swept north yesterday with heavy rains, relieved officials said the East Coast had been lucky the damage was not worse.

The roller-bladers at right and the lads feeding the waterfowl below enjoy yesterday's balmy weather on Kelly Drive.

Storm was hot long before Halle Berry. Although being portrayed by arguably the hottest actress on the planet has obviously made her more famous, Storm has been a favorite of comic fans for decades. Storm was created in 1975 by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. Her powers included flight and the ability to control and manipulate the elements. When these powers manifested themselves, she was worshipped as a goddess in her African homeland before journeying to America to join the X-Men.

Just 11 days after suffering massive damage from a storm that dropped no rain, the Jersey Shore was bracing today for another hit. The prediction: High winds, heavy rain, some flooding, high tides and beach erosion. And unlike the Oct. 31 storm, which caused the second-highest tide on record and at least $72 million in damage, this storm was expected to show its force inland, too. The last storm, which came from the northeast, resulted from a low- pressure system about 300 miles offshore; this low-pressure system, which comes from the south, will be much closer to land.

A storm packing high winds whipped through the Philadelphia area yesterday afternoon, knocking down trees and power lines and making rush hour miserable for thousands of commuters. Lincoln and Kelly drives and many other roads were blocked for a time by downed trees, and SEPTA suspended service on three of its seven regional rail lines. The storm also knocked out power to about 120,000 Philadelphia Electric Co. customers. The storm, which hit between 3:30 and 4 p.m., brought some flooding, but most of the damage was delivered by high winds.

When: Friday at 8 p.m. Where: Wells Fargo Center TV/Radio: NFL Network; ESPN-AM 950 Storm update: Tampa Bay (3-2) drilled the same Cleveland team last week, 69-48, that handed the Soul its only loss. Leading wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez is expected back after missing a game with concussion-like symptoms. Soul update: The Soul (4-1) have won two in a row and lead the AFL with an average of 72.4 points per game. They visit struggling Orlando (0-5)

HARTFORD, Conn. - Crews trying to restore power to hundreds of thousands of Northeasterners after a freak weekend snowstorm swept up the coast face a tough job, even with fair weather to work in. The wet, heavy snow that snapped branches and toppled trees across the region Saturday and Sunday brought down an extensive network of wiring, including sturdy, long-distance transmission lines and wires supplying individual homes. More than three million customers lost power at some point from Maryland to Maine, and authorities have said it could be next week before power is restored to the rest of the more than 1.7 million residents who are still in the dark.

Ridley Park did not escape when Friday's storm brought devastation to Delaware County. During the storm, Ridley Lake overflowed and a family had to be evacuated from its home in the 200 block of West Ridley Avenue, Councilman John Naugle told the Borough Council at its meeting Tuesday. The house and the occupants came through unscathed, Naugle added. At the other end of town, a manhole cover at the foot of the East Hinckley Avenue bridge was swept away and there was a blockage within the Central Delaware County Authority line.

Yesterday's wind-driven deluge interfered with communcations, made driving a nightmare, tipped over trees in the rain-softened earth and toppled power lines. But as bad as it was, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, said a National Weather Service meteorologist. By evening, 1.56 inches of rain had fallen at Philadelphia International Airport, and wind gusts of 56 mph were reported there, according to NWS. "It's not unusual to get two or three inches in coastal storms in the wintertime," said meteorlogist Ken Hagy.

Demolition work is under way in the aftermath of Thursday's storm, which was so fierce, it brought bricks down from a church spire and caused partial collapses of at least nine other buildings, the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections said. L&I spokesman Tom McNally said the largest building to collapse was a vacant commercial four-story brick building on Paul Street near Kinsey. The building was already in poor shape. L&I records showed it had been deemed a "dangerous case" in October 1991 and was reinspected just a few weeks ago. Then, inspectors found one wall partially collapsed and other parts of the building fractured and bulging.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Tropical Storm Alberto weakened slightly off the South Carolina coast on Sunday, canceling tourist cruises, producing showers along the coast and serving as a reminder that the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is just around the corner. The first storm of the season that officially begins June 1 was not expected to approach landfall on the Carolinas' coast, but it prompted a tropical storm watch and forecasters warned that it could produce high winds, heavy surf, rip currents and scattered rain across the region.

After a morning frost threat around the area, this week promises a mixed bag of mostly springlike weather. Expect a chance of rain on several days, a weekday warm-up, and a possibly very pleasant weekend. Highs should top out in the mid 60s today, but rise into the 70s for a few days, with Friday reaching the mid 80s. Tuesday could see scattered showers, with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms, said meteorologist Kristin Kline. A little rain is also possible Wednesday and Thursday, with another shot at afternoon thunderstorms on Friday.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Emergency workers with flashlights searched the smoldering wreckage of a passenger jet carrying 127 people that crashed into a muddy wheat field Friday while trying to land in a violent thunderstorm at Islamabad's main airport. The government said there appeared to be no survivors in the crash of the Boeing 737-200 near Benazir Bhutto International Airport - the second major air disaster in the Pakistani capital in less than two years. Sobbing relatives of those aboard the Bhoja Air flight from Karachi to Islamabad rushed to airports in both cities for news of their loved ones.

When: Friday at 8 p.m. Where: Wells Fargo Center TV/Radio: NFL Network; ESPN-AM 950 Storm update: Tampa Bay (3-2) drilled the same Cleveland team last week, 69-48, that handed the Soul its only loss. Leading wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez is expected back after missing a game with concussion-like symptoms. Soul update: The Soul (4-1) have won two in a row and lead the AFL with an average of 72.4 points per game. They visit struggling Orlando (0-5)

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - Taliban militants armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades battled their way into a prison in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, freeing close to 400 prisoners, including at least 20 described by police as "very dangerous" insurgents, authorities and the militants said. The raid by more than 100 fighters was a dramatic display of the strength of the insurgency gripping the nuclear-armed country. The escaped prisoners may now rejoin the fight, giving momentum and a propaganda boost to a movement that has killed thousands of Pakistani officials and ordinary citizens since 2007.

WOODWARD, Okla. - Bleary-eyed residents were scouring through damaged homes across the Midwest on Sunday after a violent storm system unleashed dozens of overnight tornadoes, killing at least five people in Oklahoma, leveling homes in Iowa and Kansas, and cutting power to hundreds of thousands. More than 100 tornadoes had been reported across the region by daybreak, according to the National Weather Service. Although the storm system was weakening as it crawled into Arkansas and Missouri and additional tornadoes were unlikely, forecasters warned that strong thunderstorms were expected as far east as Michigan.

St. Joseph's moved into first place in the Atlantic Ten baseball race by downing Massachusetts, 11-5, on the Maguire Campus in Merion Station on Saturday. Stefan Kancylarz (Lenape High) rapped out three hits and drove in four runs, and the Hawks (15-20, 6-2 A-10) also got three hits and four RBIs from Kevin Taylor , who stroked a three-run homer in the third. The win was the Hawks' seventh straight - their longest winning streak in 29 years. Alex Pracher (Cherokee)

REACTING to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, City Council called yesterday for state lawmakers to repeal Pennsylvania's recently expanded "castle doctrine" law. "We're asking the Legislature to repeal that law because copycats are everywhere, and so they are going to test the theory of whether or not you can be the aggressor based on some trumped-up reason that you think you're threatened," said Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., who introduced the...

SOME FATHERS wait forever, often in vain, for sons who share their sporting passion. Marc Ross clicked with No. 3. Kinda/sorta. Say hello to Tim Ross, a 5-10, 205-pound senior at Father Judge High. His sport is baseball and, yes, that's a match with Dad, who in 1978, before a decent crowd at Veterans Stadium, pitched George Washington past Northeast for the Public League championship. Tim is partial to third base. Fully/completely. "I'm sure my dad would like it if I pitched," Tim said, "but mostly he's just happy that I wanted to play baseball and that I've stuck with it. "I've heard some stories about my pops.

Chris Jones ripped a bases-loaded, two-out triple in the top of the seventh inning, capping a late-game outburst that gave Bishop Eustace an 8-2 win at Camden Catholic on Wednesday in Olympic Conference baseball. Winning pitcher Keith Wallace also tripled in batting 3 for 4 for the Crusaders, who broke open a scoreless duel in the sixth. Also in the Olympic, Jordan Glover's two-run single ignited a five-run, sixth-inning rally, and Paul LaRosa pitched two scoreless innings of relief to send host Cherokee past Timber Creek, 7-3. Cape-Atlantic.