Storms bring flooding, power outages to Valley

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

Heavy rains and winds ripped through the greater Pittsburgh area Monday afternoon, and the Mon Valley wasn’t immune from Mother Nature’s wrath.

Flooding was reported in at least two parts of McKeesport, and there were downed trees in the city. Flooding was also reported along the Boston portion of the Great Allegheny Passage trail in Elizabeth Township. Some in the area were left without power Monday night and are expected to be without electricity until this evening.

The McKeesport Fire Department said a stretch of Walnut Street leading into the Christy Park neighborhood near the 15th Street Bridge saw downed trees, which resulted in the road being closed until PennDOT could clear the debris. Flooding was also reported in that area.

As is common, flooding was reported along West Fifth Avenue in the city’s 10th Ward near the Elbow Room and the border with Port Vue.

The area had been under a severe thunderstorm watch issued by the National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh bureau in Moon.

As of 9:50 p.m. Monday, West Penn Power was reporting 3,624 customers in the state were impacted by outages. In the Mon Valley, 21 to 100 customers were impacted in the Charleroi/Fallowfield Township area. Those customers were expected to have power restored by 5 p.m. today. 

There were also one to 40 customers impacted in the area of Circle Drive and Tomco Lane in White Oak. West Penn Power expects to “restore power to the majority of affected customers by (Tuesday) at 6 p.m.”

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Tuesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.