Severe weather moves through region
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A man was struck by lightning and tornado warnings were issued after witnesses reported seeing funnel clouds as a severe storm brought heavy rain and golf ball-sized hail to western Pennsylvania on Thursday evening. A 25-year-old man was in fair condition at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh after being struck by lightning in the hills southwest of downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County spokeswoman Margaret Philbin said.
The storm caused flooding and power outages and knocked down many trees, damaging some structures.
Tornado warnings were issued for Allegheny, Armstrong, Indiana and Westmoreland counties during the storm, which at times moved northeast about 25 mph, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Drzal of the NWS Pittsburgh office.
The weather service will conduct a survey to determine if funnel clouds reported by witnesses actually touched down, warning coordinator meteorologist Rich Kane said.
“Our radar strongly suggests there was a tornado,” Kane stated.
“We had multiple visual reports coming in of funnel clouds. We are now trying to sort out what was wind damage and if there was actually a tornado,” he continued.
About 7,000 Duquesne Light customers, 1,000 of them in Findlay, lost power from downed trees and lines, company spokesman John Laudenslager said.
Utility crews were hoping to restore power by about midnight, Laudenslager said.
Philbin said she witnessed a funnel cloud while driving home in Pittsburgh around 6 p.m.
“I could see a rotating, pale gray, funnel-shaped cloud attached to the larger dark cloud,” Philbin said. “It appeared to be circulating … like it was being sucked back up into the cloud.”
Philbin said the sight was “eerily reminiscent” of a tornado that struck her neighborhood of Mount Washington in 1998.
Ron Wojcik, chief of the Ford City Volunteer Fire Department in Armstrong County, reported seeing swirling clouds and severe lightening but said there were no reports of damage.
“We’ve been lucky,” Wojcik said.