High winds, storms cause only moderate damage in Western Pa.; power largely restored

Emergency responders reported minimal damage from high winds and storms that swept through the region Wednesday night, though some communities fared worse than others.

Mary Queen of Apostles School in New Kensington lost a portion of its roof around 8 p.m. That forced the elementary school to switch to a flexible learning day, where students attend classes virtually from home.

The southbound lanes of Route 28 in O’Hara near exits 10 and 11 were briefly blocked by fallen trees Wednesday evening, but first responders, aided by volunteers, had the trees removed relatively quickly.

Deer Lakes School District was closed Thursday due to lack of power, and Acmetonia Elementary School in the neighboring Allegheny Valley School District also was closed.

Saxonburg and nearby communities suffered a spate of downed trees and power lines, said Steve Bicehouse, Butler County director of emergency services, but no major damage was reported.

Knoch School District was closed Thursday because of downed power lines and closed roads.

In Bellevue, Gillott Field on Davis Avenue was damaged when a tree blew down on the press box and visitor’s dugout, according to TribLive news partner WTAE.

In Allegheny County, storm-related calls were concentrated in Franklin Park, McCandless and other North Hills neighborhoods, said Kasey Reigner, spokesperson for the county’s department of emergency services.

Some electric customers remained without power Thursday, though far fewer than Wednesday night. West Penn Power reported almost 20,000 customers without power when the storms first moved through, and Duquesne Light initially reported about 18,000 outages Wednesday evening.

At 9 p.m. Thursday, West Penn Power parent FirstEnergy reported it had yet to restore power to about a dozen customers in Armstrong County, including less than five in Burrell Township; eight in Allegheny County, scattered among Fawn, Frazer, Harmar and West Deer; fewer than five in Westmoreland County, including Allegheny Township and South Huntingdon; and 20 in Butler County.

The utility projected that power to those affected customers would be restored by 11 p.m. Thursday, according to its website.

Duquesne Light reported more than 820 of its customers remained without electricity at 9 p.m Thursday, including roughly 600 in Pittsburgh and East Liberty, 115 in Sewickley, 70 in Findlay Township and 20 in Aliquippa.

Emergency services for Allegheny and Westmoreland counties did not report any major damage or significant road closures.

The National Weather Service office in Moon Township clocked winds up to 69 mph in Allegheny County.

A tornado watch, declared Wednesday by the weather service for swaths of Western Pennsylvania, expired by 9:15 p.m. without any reported sightings.

Severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties ended by 9 p.m.