TodayPennsylvania dealing with power outages resulting from wind, rain, ice
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Article RatingHARRISBURG, Pa. — More that 160,000 customers in eastern Pennsylvania lost power as a winter storm packing high winds, snow and rain swept through Pennsylvania over the weekend, officials said.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said 137,000 customers remained without power by mid-afternoon Sunday, but a total of more than 160,000 had been out following the storm.
More than 45,000 customers were without power in the Harrisburg area because of falling trees, branches and ice, Pennsylvania Power and Light spokesman Jim Nulton said. PPL had restored power to more than 62,000 customers by Sunday evening in the company’s 29-county area from Harrisburg to the Lehigh valley, Nulton said.
MetEd said on its Web site that fewer than 30,000 customers in Berks, York and Lebanon counties remained without power. More than 3,800 Peco Energy customers were without power in the five-county Philadelphia area.
State emergency management officials warned that more outages are possible with expected high winds. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph were expected into Monday morning, increasing the chance of falling frozen tree limbs and the potential for other outages. Wind chills down to zero were also forecast.
“Much of the storm has moved to our east, but the effects of significant icing have caused many problems with downed trees blocking roads and triggering power interruptions,” PEMA deputy director Richard Flinn said in a statement. “We’re not completely out of the woods, yet. People need to continue to monitor weather reports and postpone unnecessary travel.”
In western Pennsylvania, a winter storm warning was issued for counties including Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Mercer and Venango. A wind advisory remains in effect for most of the area until early Monday morning, according to KDKA-TV. Winds may gust up to about 50 miles per hour.
The storm hit the state Saturday with a mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. Continued precipitation was expected through Sunday.
