Close to 100,000 homes and businesses in Western Pennsylvania remained without electric power Friday morning after a powerful storm swept through the region, causing flash flooding that overwhelmed multiple roads and damage from fallen trees and utility lines.
And more storms are possible later Friday afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service, which reported a “slight risk” of severe storms that could bring hail, heavy downpours and damaging winds with gusts of up to 75 mph.
The NWS forecast for Friday also predicted up to a 45 percent chance of wind gusts up to 58 mph across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, as well as communities south and west of the city in Beaver, Washington and Greene counties and in West Virginia.
At least two lines of “pretty powerful storms” passed from northeastern Ohio eastward into Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon and evening, dropping 2 to 4 inches of rainfall and causing wind damage and flooding, said Chris Leonardi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
More storms may sweep through Western Pennsylvania at midday or later in the afternoon Friday, with another round possible late Friday night, Leonardi added. Those storms are likely to pass through communities southwest of Pittsburgh and in eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia, he said.
“We may see another heavy rain threat,” he said. “Flooding won’t be difficult to achieve, especially in areas that got hit yesterday. … There’s also still a wind threat with these storms.”
More than 120,000 customers in Pittsburgh and across Western Pennsylvania were without power immediately after the height of the storm Thursday night, according to the region’s utility companies. That number had dropped by about 20,000 by Friday morning, as crews from Duquesne Light Co. and FirstEnergy — the primary providers for much of Allegheny and surrounding counties — assessed and began working to restore service.
DLC said it could not immediately say how much time it would need to restore service to all of its customers. It advised customers to check its website for updates on outages in affected communities.
Most of the power outages early Friday were reported in Westmoreland County, where FirstEnergy, parent company of West Penn Power, said around 45,000 customers remained without service as of 7 a.m. DLC, which serves much of Allegheny and Beaver counties, reported that around 24,000 of its customers lacked power.
In Pittsburgh, most outages were located in the neighborhoods of Point Breeze, Shadyside, Greenfield, South Side, South Hills, North Side and Perry North. Lack of power caused Pittsburgh Public Schools to shift from in-person to remote classes for students at Pittsburgh Arlington PreK-8, Pittsburgh Schiller 6-8 and Pittsburgh Spring Hill PreK-5.
Outside of the city, most outages were located in Ambridge, Bellevue, Ross Township and elsewhere in the North Hills, Oakmont, Penn Hills, Swissvale, Green Tree, Stowe and McKees Rocks, Baldwin and West Mifflin, as well as Beaver, Daugherty Township, Industry and elsewhere in Beaver County.
In Washington County, 8,180 customers were without power, as were others in Beaver, Butler, Indiana, Cambria and Somerset counties.
The storm Thursday also caused multiple creeks and storm drains to overflow and spill onto nearby roads — including Saw Mill Run and Chartiers Creek in the South Hills as well as numerous roads in southeastern Allegheny County — snarling traffic and in some cases trapping motorists in cars. No deaths or serious injuries were immediately reported, but multiple roads were closed temporarily.
Emergency crews reported rescuing people trapped by high water in West Mifflin, North Versailles and White Oak, Leonardi said.
“Most of the flooding reports we received were across the southern part of Allegheny County, basically from the city on south … towards Whitehall, West Mifflin, … and towards the eastern part of the county,” he said.
A power outage also forced the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to close the high-occupancy vehicle lanes on Interstates 279 and 579 Thursday night. Storm-related conditions also forced several high schools to postpone or cancel football games Thursday night.
High winds also knocked down trees and power lines, and caused other damage in multiple communities; in hard-hit Oakmont, “dangerous conditions” prompted the volunteer fire department to announce a state of emergency and urge people to stay home and off the roads.
But many of the reports of strong winds and related damage came from Greensburg, Irwin and elsewhere in Westmoreland County, Leonardi said.