Tornado Watch: Tracking severe weather in the Philadelphia region | Live updates

With the region under a tornado watch, folks were trying to plan their day to avoid traveling in severe weather.

“My car doesn’t do really well in the rain, so we’re just trying to get out as early as we can,” said Dalexa Rodriguez of Reading, Pa.

Rodriguez and Kiancy Reyes were heading back to Penn State’s main campus on Monday.

“You just gotta keep your head on a swivel, pay attention. We’ll be fine,” said Kiancy Reyes of Bristol Twp., Pa.

They hit the road early, hoping to avoid some nasty weather.

Officials say crews in New Jersey and Pennsylvania spent the day cleaning storm drains and inlets in preparation for downpours.

“Today, they are picking up litter, which will hopefully prevent clogging storm drains or just having other obstructions along the road,” said Helen Reinbrecht, PennDOT’s District 6 Community Relations Coordinator.

Another concern with high winds expected: downed trees, wires, and power outages.

“PECO has developed an enhanced staffing plan for this event to ensure we have additional field crews on hand and on standby to respond to any outages to safely restore service for our customers,” said PECO spokesperson Izamarie Camacho.

PECO says they’re monitoring conditions and will call in help from outside the area if needed. They’re urging people to be safe in case of an outage – and to be prepared.

“PECO customers should always assume that equipment is energized. We tell customers to report downed power lines by contacting us at 1-800-841-4141,” added Camacho.