Power still out for many after winds sweep through the region, toppling trees and utility lines

Service has been restored for all but a handful of the nearly 3,500 Duquesne Light customers who lost power on Sunday when high winds swept through Southwestern Pennsylvania, toppling trees and downing power lines.

But a majority of the more than 10,600 local customers of West Penn Power who lost electric service are still in the dark Monday morning.

The hardest hit communities served by Duquesne Light were Scott Township, where power was knocked out for 876 customers; and O’Hara, which had 650 homes without service.

As of 10:15 a.m. on Monday, the power was back on for all but 55 Duquesne Light customers.

West Penn Power crews are working throughout the region to repair downed lines still affecting some 8,000 local customers.

The power was still out for 277 customers in Allegheny, 837 in Armstrong, 99 in Beaver, 2,84 in Butler, 298 in Fayette, 1,468 in Washington and 1,013 in Westmoreland.

Power went out on Sunday when wind gusts of 50-to-60 mph were reported throughout the region, according to the National Weather Service.

The fastest reported gusts were 63 mph at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin at 8 p.m. A 62 mph wind gust was reported at the Washington County Airport at 7:48 p.m. and the winds reached 46 mph at Pittsburgh International Airport, according to Jenna Lake, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Moon.

“We received numerous reports of fallen trees and downed power lines caused by the line of showers that passed through the area between 2 and 3 p.m. yesterday,” Lake said.

There were no injuries reported, but a a roof was ripped off a building in Mercer County and the side of a building was sheered off in Wheeling, W.Va.

The winds have died down but there could be gusts as high as 31 mph Monday. The forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high near 48. Monday night there will be a chance of rain showers with a mix of snow after 1 a.m.