More than 20k customers in Washington County lose power in winter storm
Nearly 21,000 customers in Washington County awoke Friday morning to no electricity after a winter storm swept through the region, bringing with it ice and snow.
Ice coated tree limbs and power lines late Thursday and early Friday, causing issues across Washington County, but especially in Cecil Township and rural communities in the northern and western parts of the county.
About 3,000 customers in Cecil Township were initially without electricity, according to West Penn Power, but crews were slowly making progress throughout the day Friday.
Some businesses in Southpointe briefly lost electricity Thursday night, but had power for most of the day Friday, according to Southpointe Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Don Hodor. However, nearby homes in Cecil Township were out for much longer, he said.
“Very little effect at all,” Hodor said of how the winter storm impacted the mixed-use business park near Canonsburg. “The core of Southpointe was not out of power at all. It was the residential neighborhoods west of Southpointe.”
The situation was more severe in the western part of the county, with nearly all customers in Claysville, Hanover, Cross Creek, East Finley, Donegal, Hopewell, Jefferson, McDonald, Smith, West Alexander, West Finley and West Middletown being without electricity Friday morning, according to West Penn.
Washington County accounted for about 90% of the outages in West Penn’s grid in Western Pennsylvania. There was no timeline for when power would be restored to all customers.
Mike Kennedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said there was a corridor of freezing rain from Zanesville, Ohio, to Moon Township in Allegheny County. Most places in northern Washington County received more than a quarter-inch of ice, with higher amounts in localized areas.
“We had a pretty significant winter storm,” he said. “It was a very slow-moving front, so there was a prolonged period of the freezing rain.”
Washington County Public Safety Director Gerry Coleman said there were widespread problems throughout the county. But all of the county’s senior centers except for one were open Friday. A warming shelter was open at the Avella Volunteer Fire Department, along with three in Cecil Township.
West Finley Township officials declared a state of emergency, and Coleman said he expected others may do the same soon. Coleman said county officials have been in contact with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, although he was confident local agencies would be able to handle the situation.
“None of the municipalities have reached out asking for manpower or equipment. They have no unmet needs at this point. That could change,” Coleman said. “West Penn is doing good. They’re trying. It’s just going to take some time. So a lot of folks (without power) are self-sufficient or going to visit family and friends.”
He added that many workers stayed home Friday while some businesses decided to close with the early forecast expecting ice. The Washington County Courthouse preemptively closed Friday in anticipation of the poor weather conditions.
“Fortunately, a lot of people took the day off or took jobs off,” Coleman said. “I think everyone is just sheltering in place and staying home.”
A flood warning was issued in the region for rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying or flood-prone areas, although the Monongahela River was not projected to crest above action stage.
A video posted on Facebook by Clarksville area resident Michael Ozohonish late Thursday showed ice traveling down Ten Mile Creek on its way to the Monongahela River. No flooding was reported along major rivers or creeks in the region, although there was minor flooding in some streams and some low-lying areas.
California Mayor Frank Stetar said things were relatively quiet in the borough as of Friday afternoon. Stetar did say the Monongahela River was “up,” but it didn’t seem to be at a level of concern.
“It’s not up enough to affect us,” he said. “There’s a creek behind my house. It’s definitely up, but it’s not at flood stage.”
Peters Township fire Chief Mike McLaughlin said calls were minimal as of Friday morning.
“There’s not a lot of cars on the road, which is good,” he said. “We had a couple wires down, but not a lot.”
He said as of late Friday morning, there were only 65 customers in the township without power.
“That’s something that we’re watching,” McLaughlin said. “With people staying home, we’re making sure they have power and heat.”
In Greene County, about 1,200 customers were without power early Friday, but electricity was being restored quickly through the day.
Greene County Emergency Services Director Rich Policz said they dodged the worst of the ice storm and only had localized power outages, mostly in the western part of the county.
“Everything is really good,” Policz said. “We went through this pretty good without very many issues.”
The winter weather warning expired about 10 a.m. Friday, but snow continued to fall through most of the day, leaving an inch or two of accumulation in most parts.
Staff writer Paul Paterra contributed to this report.