TRENTON, N.J. — Utility crews were working around the clock to clear toppled trees and other debris as power was slowly being restored to the hundreds of thousands of people in the Northeast who were affected by a fast-moving ferocious storm system that caused two deaths.

The line of storms – which packed heavy rains, lightning and dangerous winds – also knocked down transmission lines and wires as it thundered through eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut on Tuesday night.

A driver turns her car at a closed road Wednesday after a violent storm downed poles and power lines Tuesday night in Gibbstown, N.J. Many were without power Wednesday. The Associated Press

In Pennsylvania, PECO said about 121,000 homes and businesses remained without power late on Wednesday afternoon. In New Jersey, nearly 180,000 homes and businesses were without electricity around the same time.

Officials said full service might not be restored to some customers until the weekend. For others, it may even be longer.

Forecasters were trying to determine whether straight line winds or a tornado caused most of the damage. The National Weather Service said a 71 mph wind gust was recorded at Philadelphia International Airport.

The storm is responsible for at least two deaths.

A 15-year-old girl on a church camping trip was killed by trees knocked over in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest.

In Maryland, Montgomery County Police said a 79-year-old man died Tuesday night after his pickup truck hit a downed tree in Beallsville after storms swept through.

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