Power coming back steadily across Southwestern Pa. after heavy storms, Fayette tornado, but outages remain

Power crews continued working Saturday afternoon to restore power to more than 5,000 customers in Southwestern Pennsylvania following strong storms and a tornado that touched down in Fayette County.

West Penn Power had about 3,690 customers still without power around 5 p.m. Saturday, down from 8,000 in the morning.

The most-affected area was in a triangle formed by Waynesburg, Uniontown and Belle Vernon.

Just under 2,000 Fayette County customers were still without power at 5 p.m., along with 218 in Allegheny County, about 600 in Washington County and less than 100 in Westmoreland County.

By Saturday afternoon, Duquesne Light had restored power to between 100-150 customers in Baldwin Borough and Beaver Falls, and about 400 west of Pittsburgh, in the Hanover area around Raccoon Creek State Park.

Fewer than 30 of its customers remained without power as of 5 p.m. Saturday.

PennDOT reported around 6:15 p.m. Saturday that all state roads that had been closed due to wires and trees down had reopened.

Homes, trees, power lines, and a Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park resort and campground were damaged early Friday morning when strong thunderstorms and a tornado moved through the region.

The National Weather Service confirmed in a report that a tornado with winds peaking at 120 miles per hour passed through the Springfield Township region of Fayette County at around 2:30 a.m.

Tribune-Review news partner WTAE spoke with one resident on Fairmont Road in Springfield whose neighbors’ trailer was picked up by the wind and rolled over, sending multiple children to the hospital.

“They’re alright, thank God,” Doug Show told WTAE. “It was really strong, every pole was snapped off up along Fairmont Road.”

Saturday’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high of 81 degrees and a low of 61 tonight, according to the National Weather Service.