Pittsburgh Storms Wreak Havoc, Trigger Power Outages, School Closures

PITTSBURGH, PA — Severe storms rolled through the region overnight, causing widespread damage, power outages and prompting several Western Pennsylvania school districts to cancel or delay classes on Friday.

Trees were reported down in Fayette County and a man had to be rescued when he became trapped on a flooded roadway in Penn Hills, according to the Penn Hills No. 7 Volunteer Fire Company.r>

The South Park School District stated on its website that classes will be canceled today"due to widespread power outages, hazardous driving conditions, and road closures. The Bethlehem-Center School District in Washington County also canceled classes.

The Carlynton School District said it would be on a two-hour delay Friday due to power outages./p>

As of 7:30 a.m., Duquesne Light reported nearly 1,100 customers were without power -down from about 16,000 at the height of the storms. West Penn Power reported about 350 of its customers also were without electrical service.

The weather should be calmer on Friday. The National Weather Service says a 40 percent chances of thunderstorms remains today, but none are expected to be severe.