Heavy Rains Blamed For Flash Flooding, Traffic Accidents
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The heavy rains that fell around the Pittsburgh region Thursday are being blamed for some flash flooding and evening rush hour traffic troubles.
An afternoon accident on the Parkway East outbound near the Penn Hills exit sent a utility pole crashing to the ground.
It appeared a car slammed into the utility pole, causing it to topple. According to an eyewitness, at the time of the accident, there was a thunderstorm and the highway was wet with some ponding reported.
As a result of the crash, traffic was backed up for several miles just as the evening rush hour was about to begin.
Rains also caused minor flooding problems in Monroeville and Shaler Township.
The storms, however, were nowhere near as severe as the ones that pounded areas of Butler and Armstrong Counties Wednesday.
An official with the National Weather Service office in Pittsburgh said there were no tornadoes involved in that wicked weather, even though some people reported what appeared to be funnel clouds.
Mathew Kramar, of the NWS, said after surveying some of the damaged areas that it appeared the damage was caused by a downburst, but there were some high winds, especially in the Lisbon, Ohio, area where winds were clocked at one point at 80, possibly 90 miles an hour.
Officials in Lisbon, just across the Pennsylvania state line, declared a state of emergency. At least three houses were destroyed in the town, and nearly two dozen others were damaged by the severe weather late Wednesday.
Late Thursday, West Penn Power reported 300 people were still in the dark in Concord Township, Butler County, because of the wicked weather.
But, power was expected to be fully restored in the area during the overnight hours.
RELATED LINKS:
NWS Investigating Funnel Cloud Reports (6/12/14)
State Police, PennDOT Investigating Parkway Crash (6/12/14)
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