Snowstorm surprises district, knocks out power
An unusual fall snowstorm left 12,000 utililty customers without power in Fayette County, thanks in large part to snow-heavy tree branches. Allegheny Power spokesman Fred Solomon said Tuesday morning that the outages affected 16 percent of the company’s customers. He said that crews were dispatched, but indicated it was probable that power would not be completely restored until Thursday.
“Every available crew is working to restore power throughout the county,” Solomon said.
He said that the outages are largely a result of leaves and tree branches, weighted down by the snow. Those branches caused power lines to short or snap, Solomon said.
Solomon said that as of 9:30 a.m., there were 439 separate power outages reported in Fayette County. The bulk of those affected were in the Fairchance area, Solomon said, listing a reported 1,300 without power.
The areas of Mill Run, Normalville, Indian Head, Farmington and Brownsville were also hard hit, he said.
“The outages are everywhere,” he said.
Allegheny Power received the first outage report around 2:30 a.m., Solomon said, and by the later morning hours, many others poured into the company.
He said the company started dispatching trucks out of the Uniontown service center first thing in the morning to begin addressing the outages.
Those who are part of a large number of users affected by an outage point will be serviced first, Solomon said.
“If you happen to be the one person on a circuit that’s out, it might take a little bit more time,” he said.
Outages were also widespread across Greene County, according to county Emergency Management Director Jeff Marshall, who said power outages began pouring into the 911 center after 5:30 a.m.
Marshall said Allegheny and Alltel officials were working throughout the day Tuesday to restore electricity to affected communities, but added that power might not be completely restored until today.
Marshall said the county commissioners partnered with the American Red Cross to set up three warming centers across the county, at the Greene County Fairgrounds, the New Freeport Volunteer Fire Department and the Marianna Volunteer Fire Department. Warming centers were also set up at the Perry Township Volunteer Fire Department and at the Connellsville Township Volunteer Fire Department in Fayette County.
With temperatures near freezing tonight, officials were telling anyone without power to stay at the center until their electricity is restored.
Chalk Hill weather observer Jack Hughes said Tuesday afternoon that he was still without power.
Hughes estimated that the mountain area had seen about 8 inches of snowfall that started around 3 p.m. Monday. He said snow flurries or showers in October aren’t entirely unusual, but the wet heavy snow is out of the ordinary.
The last time a heavy snow came in October was in 1993. The snow started on Halloween, Hughes said, and lasted into the following day, leaving 9 inches on the region.
Hughes said having the first heavy snow before the trees shed their leaves is both a blessing and a curse. While the colorful leaves with the snow on them look beautiful, the result of heavy snow sticking to leaves means lots of down branches, he said.
“Any tree or branch that has a weakness comes down,” Hughes said.
Weather conditions also affected local school districts.
The Albert Gallatin Area School District closed completely yesterday, largely because four of their schools were without power.
AG Director of Transportation Tony Tokish said that around 4:30 a.m., A.L. Wilson Elementary and Windy Hill schools lost power. The district closed those two schools, but around 6:15 a.m., Tokish said that Friendship Hill Elementary and AG South middle schools also lost power.
When Laidlaw, the bus company for the district, reported trees down in rural areas, Tokish said the district made the determination to close for the day. The bulk of the school’s bus routes are rural, he said.
“Our first concern is for the care and safety of the students,” Tokish said. “We didn’t know what time the power was going to come back on, and we had to make the decision because of heat and food.”
The decision to close, which came around quarter till 7, meant that some senior high school students had to be bused back home, Tokish said.
“It was a tough decision, but our first concern is the students,” he said.
Early Tuesday morning, Laurel Highlands Middle School was without power and telephone service, but the district continued with its regular schedule. The school did have auxiliary lighting and heat, according to a press release from the district, and power was fully restored around 11:30 a.m.
District officials canceled extracurricular activities, including a 6th grade dance, scheduled for Tuesday, as well as tutoring throughout the entire district.
Carmichaels Area School District in Greene County also cancelled classes.
According to National Weather Service meteorologist Brad Rehak, as much as 8 inches of snow was recorded throughout the Fayette County mountain area by Tuesday afternoon with about 3 inches across the Uniontown area.
Rehak said snow showers will continue through the morning today, with an additional inch of accumulation possible in the Uniontown area and as many as 3 inches possible in the mountain region.
Rehak said later today the snow will change to rain and by Thursday, the precipitation will move out of the area with the temperatures warming into the mid 50s by Friday.
Even though he was without power yesterday morning, Hughes said his wife’s insistence that he buy a grill with a side burner got him a hot breakfast. He cooked himself a breakfast of scrambled eggs, kielbasa and boiled hot water for tea.
“I was standing out in the snow cooking it, but it was good,” he said. “I was ever so thankful that I listened (to my wife) and got the grill with the sidearm, because it certainly came in handy this morning.”
Editor’s note: Staff writer Josh Krysak contributed to this report.