Severe storms sweep through Pittsburgh area, prompting warnings
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Severe storms rolled through the Pittsburgh area on Wednesday, prompting several warnings.
Many counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, were under tornado watches until the severe weather moved farther east.
An earlier tornado warning was issued for parts of Allegheny County, including the city of Pittsburgh, but the National Weather Service said tornadic circulation weakened and the warning expired around 8 p.m.
As of 11 p.m., Duquesne Light said more than 17,000 customers are without power, while FirstEnergy, which includes West Penn Power, has more than 11,000 customers without power.
There is no timeframe for when power will be restored.
There are no current watches or warnings.
Wednesday's forecast
FIRST ALERT: Strong storms are expected between 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
AWARE: Showers and storms are possible Saturday.
A severe thunderstorm watch was issued for parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. In the Pittsburgh area, it covers Armstrong, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.
Tuesday is a KDKA First Alert Weather Day because of strong to severe storms expected. They start after 1 p.m. north of Pittsburgh then overspread the region around 4 p.m., sticking around until 8/9 p.m.
We are under a slight risk for severe weather, which is a 2 out of 5. This means there will be more scattered storms and an isolated tornado can't be ruled out, meaning we might seen one or two warnings. Damaging winds and hail are a big threat so stay weather aware. If you plan to be outdoors, make sure to have a backup plan to seek shelter.
Thursday and Friday look great with highs in the low to mid 80s, comfortable and partly cloudy. Rain showers arrive late Friday.
We have another weekend with highs in the mid 80s and scattered showers and a few storms on Saturday.
Heading into the Fourth of July week, most of the region is trending well above normal. So far for the month of June, we are already nearly 4 degrees above normal. Isolated storms are also possible this weekend.