Fayette spared storm damage after ‘double derecho’ slams Wheeling
Photo courtesy of Philip Stahl
Many trees were toppled in Wheeling Park early Tuesday after severe storms struck Wheeling, W.Va., but dissipated by the time they reached Fayette and Greene counties.
Courtesy of Philip Stahl
Many trees were toppled in Wheeling Park early Tuesday morning after severe storms struck Wheeling, W.Va., but dissipated by the time they reached Fayette and Greene counties.
Southwestern Pennsylvania was spared the worst of the severe storms that swept through the area early Tuesday morning, including a “double derecho” that slammed into Wheeling, W.Va.
While the northern panhandle of West Virginia sustained the bulk of the damage and power outages, the storm system mostly dissipated by the time it crossed the state line and reached Fayette and Greene counties.
“We were blessed. God’s hands came down and spread (the line of storms),” Greene County Emergency Management Director Rich Policz said after receiving only a few reports of damage in the western part of the county. “It went south and north of us.”
More than 600 customers were without electricity Tuesday morning in Greene County, although West Penn Power crews were able to quickly restore power to most of them by noon. In comparison, there were only a handful of customers in Fayette County without power following the storm.
“I was watching out the window. I could see there was lightning all around us, but nothing really close,” Fayette Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Sue Griffith said.
Griffith said that some trees were down in Dunbar and a utility pole caught fire in Bullskin Township overnight, but aside from that and a few power outages, Fayette County escaped the storms mostly unscathed.
“We were prepared for it,” she said. “Fortunately for us, it didn’t reach our area.”
The same could not be said of Wheeling as more than 16,000 customers there were left without power following the storm, according to American Electric Power that services Ohio and West Virginia. An AEP spokeswoman blamed the damage and power outages on two derechos — widespread, long-lived wind storms associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms — that came through the area in rapid succession. Wheeling Hospital was forced to use a backup generator to keep powering the facility. It was not known when electricity would be restored to all customers affected in West Virginia’s northern panhandle.
“The storms generally weakened just as they were starting to get into that area,” said Jason Frazier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. “The wind, maybe it gusted, but it didn’t do much damage. Most of the damage was in Wheeling area.”
In the wake of Tuesday’s storms, a heat wave is expected to last through the end of this week.
“(Wednesday), we’re looking at temperatures rising to the lower to potentially mid-90s, with heat index values eclipsing 100 degrees,” Frazier said.
Hot and humid conditions will continue through Thursday, with temperatures hanging in the low 90s. Frazier said there’s the possibility of a thunderstorm rolling through the region Thursday evening, which will bring cooler temps and severe weather.
Until then, he advised folks to stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day and limit their exposure to the sun. Some cooling centers were preparing to open up in Fayette County in response to the heat.
Connellsville Mayor Greg Lincoln said City Hall is a cooling center, but recommends folks looking to beat the heat head to the Connellsville senior center, which has more seating and room for cooling off.
“Our senior center is our warming center, our cooling center. It’s our go-to when we have storms approaching. We’re very fortunate to have it,” Lincoln said, noting the center is up and running as a cooling station this week, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“If there’s a need to go later into the evening, we will get some volunteers to come in and man the building,” he said.
Lincoln advised those looking to cool off call City Hall at 724-628-2020 before heading to either the hall or the senior center, to ensure the buildings are open.
Due to production problems created by the severe storms that hit the region, the Herald-Standard went to press early Tuesday. Some later-occurring news and sporting events are not included in today’s print edition.