Storms hit fayette
Around 1,300 homes in Fayette County were without power on Saturday when storms unleashed heavy rains, sleet and snow on the area, knocking down trees and power lines. There were “pockets of outages” throughout Fayette County, Allegheny Energy spokesman David Neurohr said, with most customers without power located in Dunbar, Dawson, Mill Run, Mount Braddock and Normalville.
Because of the sporadic nature of the outages, Neurohr said service was expected to return for those without power by late Saturday or early Sunday.
The National Weather Service clocked winds at 37 mph in Pittsburgh and reported hail, sleet and snow in the region. The sudden thunderstorm, along with the mixture of rain, hail and snow, was part of a “fairly vigorous” storm that isn’t unusual for this time of year, which is unstable weather-wise, according to a spokesman from the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
While the majority of the storm passed by mid-afternoon, a wind advisory for the area remains in effect until 10 this morning.
The high winds blew a large patch of shingles off a roof in Morrell shortly before 4 p.m. The house, which is located next to the Morrell Volunteer Fire Department, was left with a roughly 8-foot by 12-foot patch of bare roof, according to firefighter Doug Grimm. The fire department was assisted at the scene by Fayette EMS, but no one was injured, he said.
The high winds also snapped several trees in Dunbar Township, left one family’s trampoline stuck in a tree and tore a walkway railing out of the ground on Dunbar Street, according to the Dunbar Fire Department.
Officials in Washington County reported trees and power lines down throughout the county, with most of the power outages in the Hickory, Burgettstown, Canonsburg and Avella areas. About 890 Allegheny Energy customers in Washington were without power on Saturday. The storm did minimal damage in Greene Count, but left an estimated 120 Allegheny Energy customers in the Waynesburg area without power.
No major damage or injuries were reported as a result of the storm in Fayette, Greene or Washington counties.