PITTSBURGH — Thousands of Pittsburgh-area residents are without power following a powerful storm system that swept through the region on Sunday. The severe weather, which brought wind gusts of more than 50 mph, has left many communities, especially in Allegheny County, in the dark.
By 10 p.m. Sunday, approximately 55,416 customers were without power in Duquesne Light’s service area. The outages have primarily impacted Allegheny County, where an estimated 50,000 homes and businesses have been affected. Beaver County also saw around 5,100 customers without electricity. In addition to Duquesne Light, FirstEnergy reported outages in their service areas, with more than 22,000 customers without power across their Pennsylvania territory.
The utility companies are working around the clock to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Duquesne Light crews are prioritizing the restoration of service to customers with critical needs, such as hospitals and emergency facilities, as they work to clear downed trees and broken utility poles caused by the fierce winds.
Many of the outages were caused by fallen trees and broken utility infrastructure. In North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County, TV reporter Ricky Sayer witnessed a large tree topple onto a roadway and crush a parked car, underscoring the extent of the damage caused by the storm.
FirstEnergy, which covers a wide portion of the Pittsburgh region, reported outages across several counties, including:
- Allegheny County: 1,801 customers without power
- Beaver County: 1,571 customers without power
- Westmoreland County: 5,361 customers without power
- Washington County: 1,841 customers without power
- Mercer County: 2,223 customers without power
- Lawrence County: 1,005 customers without power
- Butler County: 2,511 customers without power
- Fayette County: 691 customers without power
- Greene County: 456 customers without power
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory, which has been extended through 1 a.m. Monday. Winds could continue to gust up to 50 mph, creating additional risks for more downed trees and power outages in the coming hours.
Residents are being urged to stay safe and avoid traveling if possible due to hazardous conditions. Emergency crews are on standby to respond to any new storm damage, and utility companies are continuing to work tirelessly to restore power as conditions improve.
As the storm moves out of the region, authorities are hopeful that crews will be able to restore service quickly, but the restoration process may take time in certain areas, especially where extensive tree damage has occurred.
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