High Winds Batter Western Pa., Bringing Down Trees & Power Lines
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- High winds have arrived in western Pennsylvania and they are battering the area, causing power outages and bringing down trees.
6:30 a.m. UPDATE - Part of Route 8 in Butler County was closed earlier this morning after a tree fell on the roadway near Penn Street in Butler Township. PennDOT says a truck hit the tree after it was down on road. No injuries were reported. PennDOT says crews were just starting to remove the truck. Workers will then have to cut up the downed tree before they reopen the road. PennDOT could not offer an estimate on when that part of Route 8 will reopen.
5:20 a.m. UPDATE - A tree has fallen on some wires along Fischer Avenue in Shaler. There is no traffic restriction.
4:40 a.m. UPDATE - A PennDOT official in Butler County says part of Dick Road in Connoquenessing Township is closed due to downed trees and wires. Also, part of Winfield Road in Winfield Township is closed due to downed trees and wires.
4:15 a.m. UPDATE - An emergency official in Armstrong County says East Brady Road in Franklin Township has reopened.
3:00 a.m. UPDATE - Harts Run Road in Hampton Township is closed due to downed trees or wires between Middle Road and Valley Green Drive.
2:30 a.m. UPDATE - There are reports of trees and wires down in most counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.
In Sewickley Borough, a tree came down on Chadwick Street around 1 a.m. Emergency crews were able to clear the roadway, but police say they are concerns about another tree that may come down as well.
An emergency official in Beaver County says part of Elmwood Boulevard in Big Beaver is closed in both directions due to downed trees and wires. There's no estimate on when it will reopen. In Armstrong County, part of East Brady Road in Franklin Township is closed. An emergency official said it should reopen within the next couple hours.
- Check back for updates throughout the morning
A High Wind Warning went into effect at 10 p.m. for Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland counties. It continues through 10 a.m. Friday.
Marion and Monongalia counties in West Virginia are also under the warning.
"The high winds tonight, the sustained winds, will stay in the 20-30 mile an hour range with gusts of 40-50 miles an hour possible," said KDKA Chief Meteorologist Jeff Verszyla.
High wind and snow will affect the Upper Ohio Valley Region tonight and Friday. pic.twitter.com/N7XpSfrbIi
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) March 1, 2018
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Officials are warning of dangerous conditions, especially for drivers.
"In between midnight and 2 a.m., we're likely to see our highest wind gusts, so they're still to come in the next couple of hours," Verszyla said.
Allegheny County is reporting widespread damage, including downed trees and wires from the city to Penn Hills to Collier Township to Franklin Park to McCandless.
McCandless: Tree and wires down across the road - Blum Ave. at Rinaman Rd.; utility notified.
— Allegheny County (@Allegheny_Co) March 2, 2018
As of 11 p.m., Duquesne Light is reporting 160 customers without power, and Penn Power was reporting more than 2,300 customers in the dark.
With the wet ground and strong winds forecast overnight, scattered power outages are possible overnight. #pawx #wind #Pittsburgh #ohwx #mdwx #wvwx pic.twitter.com/RHeSL5KZRx
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) March 1, 2018
In addition to the high wind gusts, rain earlier in the day caused existing landslide issues to become worse, and adding new concerns around the area, including in Kilbuck Township.
In the early morning hours of Friday, snow showers are moving in.
"By 2 o'clock in the morning, we're going to see a brief window of some scattered snow showers, and then by 8, 9 a.m., they're pretty much gone," said Verszyla. "In the process, we may get a coating to a half of an inch on the grassy areas only, but roads should be okay for the commute [Friday] morning in terms of no snow accumulating."
Stay with KDKA for the latest on the changing weather conditions.