That escalated quickly. The “bomb” nor’easter that swept through the area Friday night — which forecasters are calling Winter Storm Riley, if you’re into names — left behind sunny skies on Saturday, but also way more destruction than anticipated.
Trees were toppled all over the region, uprooted by winds that gusted up to 60 miles per hour. A disaster emergency was declared in Delaware County, where many residents were still without power Sunday morning. In Montgomery County, a man died after sustaining injuries after a tree fell on his car.
No deaths were reported inside the city, but the treepocalpyse was apparent everywhere.
From Center City to Lincoln Drive, here are more than 25 photos of trees down in Philly this weekend.
Rittenhouse Square
The giant, 50-foot linden that crashed into Rittenhouse Square had become a popular photo attraction by Saturday afternoon.
Perfect for a photo op for dogs….
…or humans.
Brick sidewalks make it easier for roots to get loose, but the wind was still powerful enough to bust open the concrete part of the block.
All those gorgeous old houses are fronted by some pretty old trees.
Fitler Square
And it was such a good parking spot, too.
20th and JFK Boulevard
If a tree wasn’t actually crushing or blocking anything, sometimes it was just marked off with caution tape until crews could return to deal with it.
South Philly
Or sometimes even when a tree was blocking a road, caution tape had to serve as a temporary measure.
Grays Ferry
Did this tree escape the gated community of Naval Square?
Riverwards
In Fishtown, trees fell near Girard Avenue and elsewhere.
The quiet streets made potential hazards obvious.
Many streets in the area were blocked by smaller debris.
Luckily, this tree fell in the opposite direction of the parked cars.
Hunting Park
The historic designation couldn’t save this beauty in Hunting Park.
West Philly
Midday Saturday, there were still trees strewn across the middle of Chestnut at 46th Street.
Spruce had been closed to traffic, but that couldn’t protect parked cars.
RIP that sidewalk.
Chestnut Hill
No car damage on this street, just a big mess for the electric company.
East Falls
Per multiple social media reports, the person in this white car drove into the tree after it had already fallen.
No one tried that on this road, thank goodness.
Lincoln Drive
The tree-lined drive was not the place to be.
Roxborough
Green Lane near the Wissahickon saw many trees felled.
And nearby, the sidewalks were torn up.
Kelly Drive
Both drives along the Schuylkill were temporarily closed at times this weekend.
If you see a downed tree that looks like it has yet to be handled, and it doesn’t appear to be an emergency, call Philly311. If it does look like an emergency, Tree Philly advises calling 911, so the crew of arborists from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation can come out to deal with it.
