PITTSBURGH — Storms swept through the Pittsburgh area Sunday night, knocking out power for thousands of people, bringing down trees and forcing road closures.
As the cleanup continues, more storms are possible Monday.
If you want to receive alerts about weather, download our Severe Weather Team 11 app.
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UPDATE 6:22 p.m.:
Duquesne Light has nearly 230 employees working to restore power throughout Allegheny and Beaver counties.
At one point last night, nearly 20,000 people were in the dark.
“We have people working around the clock. We have high confidence we’ll be able to pick everyone up by late this evening,” explained a spokesperson for the company.
In the immediate aftermath of last night’s storm, Duquesne Light’s website was down for several hours and the phone lines were tied up. A spokesperson for the utility company said they are looking into what caused the failures in the system.
Tree removal companies across Allegheny County are also slammed right now.
The owner of one tree removal company we spoke to over the phone told us he is so busy with calls that his clients are on a waiting list.
The owner of the tree squad company is busy making rounds, taking jobs one at a time.
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UPDATE 5:18 p.m: Channel 11 was there when power lines caught on fire in Reserve Township.
When our photographer was able to zoom in, you could see multiple wires were on fire.
For hours, Mount Troy Road in Reserve Township was shut down while crews worked to get the flames under control.
Also, thousands of homes lost power as trees came crashing down and some neighborhoods dealt with flooding.
One of the hardest-hit areas was Ross Township.
This afternoon our Aaron Martin saw crews repairing a utility pole on Brethauer Avenue near Nelson Run Road.
The damage didn’t stop in Ross though. Our Michelle Newell said the usually peaceful Schenely Heights now looks like a mangled jungle families are trying to trek through.
Watch the video below to hear neighbors and crews tell Channel 11 about how long the neighborhoods could be without power and what it will take to clean the mess up.
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UPDATE 4:04 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Indiana, Fayette Washington and Westmoreland counties until 4:45 p.m.
UPDATE 3:26 p.m.: Pools in Allegheny County have been closed due to heavy weather moving through the area.
UPDATE 3:10 p.m.: A New Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington counties until 3:30 p.m.
UPDATE 2:36 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties until 3 p.m.
UPDATE 2:10 p.m.: Mount Troy Road has been closed from Geyer Road to Hoffman Road due to power lines catching fire.
UPDATE 1:44 p.m.: Harry Street in North Oakland as some pretty rough damage. Neighbors in the area told our Michele Newell that they haven’t had power since last night.
UPDATE 12:50 p.m.: Local businesses are also being affected by damage caused by recent storms.
Some have been forced to lose a whole day’s worth of business, try to find a workaround for power issues or a combination of the two.
The North Park Golf Course is only able to accept cash, due to a loss of power.
UPDATE 11:50 a.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for southwestern Pennsylvania, as well as parts of West Virginia and Ohio, until 6 p.m.
UPDATE 11:45 a.m.: Water quickly rose in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood Sunday night, leaving behind a mess that required the use of heavy machinery to clean up on Monday.
People who live along Reynolds Street said the water got at least three feet high, and cars got stuck in it.
“We saw the water rising to the running boards on the cars. I called my neighbor and told him to move his car and, fortunately, he was lucky and was able to do that. The other two cars weren’t as lucky,” Bob Shreve, of Point Breeze, said.
A few streets over on Penham Place, a large tree uprooted and came down onto the back of an SUV.
A handful of other trees also fell in the area, as did wires.
UPDATE 11:30 a.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Butler, Mercer and Venango counties until 11:45 a.m.
UPDATE 10:55 a.m.: Morrowfield Avenue in Squirrel Hill is blocked by a large tree that fell.
UPDATE 10:45 a.m.: Several roadways in Shaler Township remain closed Monday after storms led to flooding, downed wires and downed trees. The police department said it is periodically updating the following Facebook post:
UPDATE 9:40 a.m.: There is a fallen tree on Cumberland Road between McKnight Road and Babcock Boulevard in McCandless.
UPDATE 8 a.m.: About 10,000 Duquesne Light customers are still without power. Crews are working to restore all service by 11:45 p.m., though many customers will get power back sooner.
UPDATE 7:25 a.m.: Standing water is covering part of Reynolds Street at South Murtland Street in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood.
UPDATE 6:50 a.m.: Downed wires have part of Route 50 closed in Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County.
UPDATE 6:30 a.m.: Duquesne Light said service is expected to be restored to all its customers by 11:45 p.m. Monday, but many will have power back sooner.
West Penn Power said power will be restored to customers in Washington and Westmoreland counties throughout the morning, with the majority getting service back by noon. The estimated restoration time for Allegheny County is about 2 p.m.
CLICK HERE for the latest on Duquesne Light’s power outages and HERE for West Penn Power’s outages.
UPDATE 5:15 a.m.: In Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood, Reynolds Street is closed in the area of Bucknell Street because of water on the roadway. Penn Avenue is closed between Dallas and Linden avenues because of downed wires. On nearby Penham Place, a large tree is down.
UPDATE 4:30 a.m.: Thousands of people remain without power Monday morning, with many of the outages in Pittsburgh’s North Hills.
Lane restrictions are in place along Babcock Boulevard in the area of Hemlock Drive in McCandless Township as power crews work to restore service in that area.
CLICK HERE for the latest on Duquesne Light’s power outages and HERE for West Penn Power’s outages.
UPDATE 11:00 p.m.: Duquesne Light reports they have 5,000 customers without power - down from more than 20,000 earlier this evening.
West Penn Power reports they have more than 1,600 customers in Allegheny County without service - most of them in McCandless.
UPDATE 10:25 p.m.: Drivers encountered flash flooding in Pleasant Hills.
A viewer sent this from Route 51 at Lewis Run Road.
UPDATE 9:30 p.m.: Cleanup is underway in neighborhoods across Pittsburgh.
A viewer sent this from Point Breeze.
UPDATE 8:40 p.m.: There’s been another report of flooding in the Squirrel Hill area.
UPDATE 8:25 p.m.: Flash flooding could continue to be an issue throughout the evening as waters rise.
A viewer sent this from South Oakland.
Channel 11 has contacted Duquesne Light for information on how many outages there currently are.
UPDATE 7:30 p.m.: A Flash Flood Warning will be in effect for parts of Washington and Allegheny counties until 9:15 p.m.
Flooding continues to be reported around the North Hills, including on Seavey Road in Shaler.
A tree fell onto a man’s car in McCandless, but fortunately, he wasn’t hurt.
UPDATE 7:05 p.m.: Watch the video below for the latest on the storms, from Chief Meteorologist Stephen Cropper.
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UPDATE 6:50 p.m.: Chief Meteorologist Stephen Cropper says the storms appear to be weakening.
The National Weather Service is reporting many instances of wind damage to structures.
UPDATE 6:45 p.m.: The Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been allowed to expire.
Most of the area is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 7 p.m.
UPDATE 6:35 p.m.: Drivers report power outages on Babcock Boulevard in Ross Township.
There are huge trees blocking Cemetery Road and Siebert Road.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: All Allegheny County pools have closed for the day because of the inclement weather.
UPDATE 6:25 p.m.: West Penn Power reports around 1,200 customers without electricity, the majority of which are in the McCandless area.
Duquesne Light’s website outage map is not loading properly.
UPDATE 6 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning for parts of Washington, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties is in effect until 6:45 p.m.
A Flash Flood Warning has also been issued for southeastern Allegheny County and southwestern Westmoreland County.
The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for all local counties until 7 p.m.
ORIGINAL STORY: Thunderstorms are tracking southeastward with the potential to be severe, including high damaging winds and large hail.
Showers and storms will be scattered, meaning they won’t be everywhere all at the same time. If you find a dry slot today and plan to spend time outside, remember “when thunder roars go indoors.”
Wet weather decreases tonight and picks up again tomorrow afternoon. Cooler air moves in late Monday and cooler and drier weather settles in during the middle of the week.
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