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Microburst blamed for damage
niedbala@observer-reporter.com
WAYNESBURG - Scotty Adams of Braden Street had heard the wind and rain pick up and was just closing the front window when leaves and tree branches smacked hard against the glass.
Adams said he thought a branch had been blown against the side of his house by the wind accompanying the Tuesday evening storm.
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But that is exactly what happened. What struck his house was the 60- to 70-foot high maple tree that had stood at the corner of his lot.
Adams said he was lucky that limbs kept the tree from breaking through the front window he was closing.
But other large limbs did smack the house, damaging the roof and hitting two of his cars, one parked in the driveway and the other out front.
He wasn't the only one to escape harm. Just minutes before the tree fell, his son-in-law and two grandchildren had left in a car that was parked right at the spot where a large part of the tree landed.
"We were really lucky," Adams said. "But the way I look at, it nobody got hurt. This," he said, surveying the damage, "can be replaced."
The severe thunderstorm passed through the county about 7:15 p.m. The brief 15- to 20-minute storm knocked down trees and tree limbs and left about 4,600 customers without power.
Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the damage probably was caused by a microburst, or straight line winds, that accompanied the storm.
NWS radar indicated no tornados, only strong winds upwards of 60 miles per hour, Hendricks said. "It's amazing how much damage you can get with a microburst," he said.
Sam McCullough of the Waynesburg sewage plant, who keeps the official rainfall for the weather service, said the storm dumped 1.1 inches of rain on the Waynesburg area.
Allegheny Power reported outages in the Waynesburg, Jefferson and Spraggs areas. All customers were returned to service by 2 or 3 a.m. Wednesday, a spokesman said.
Most of the damage from the high winds and rain was reported in the Waynesburg area.
"It was pretty much isolated to Waynesburg and the surrounding parts of Franklin Township," said Jeff Marshall director of the county Emergency Management Service.
EMS received no reports of anyone injured. Waynesburg-Franklin Township Fire Co. was called to free several people stuck in an elevator at Avalon Court.
The fire company also was out checking downed wires and assisting with downed trees and limbs.
Waynesburg Borough crews were out Tuesday night and again Wednesday removing trees and limbs blocking roads and sidewalks.
George Howard, borough manager, estimated three dozen trees or large limbs were down throughout the borough. "There were a few rotten ones," Howard said. "But most of the trees we have to clean up are mature, healthy trees," he said.
Several large limbs fell from trees in Waynesburg Commons, one striking a car parked on Washington Street.
Howard said the high winds damaged the roof of a house on Lincoln Street and the roof of a car port on Race Street. Other homes received siding or other minor damage, he said.
Howard said the storm hit hard, with high winds and heavy sheets of rain. When it struck, Howard said, he was just driving through the Hardie's restaurant parking lot.
The heavy rain created a "a blinding condition," he said. "There was a tremendous wind, and things were pelting the side of the car."
Howard said traffic was moving slowly, but by the time he drove to the borough, about 2 to 3 miles away, the storm was over.
Howard said he expects it will take about two to three days for the borough to clean up the tees. The borough is not allowed to cut trees on private property, but will pick up trees and branches that have been cut to a reasonable length and placed at the curb, he said.
Trees also were reported down in the Oak Forest Road and Homeville Road areas. Several trees along Route 21 at the county fairgrounds were snapped off at the base.
The storm also damaged several pool umbrellas and lawn chairs at the Aquatic Center in Franklin Township, said J. Allen Blaker, county director of recreation. The pool was closed Wednesday as workers cleared debris from the water and assessed the damage.
The pool did not sustain structural damage to the slides or building and Blaker estimates the cost of the damage at under $1,000.
"Anything that was portable took a hit. Everything else seems to be fine," he said.
