As of Monday afternoon, PPL’s outage map shows nearly 60,000 people are still without power across the state.
Thousands remain without power in Central Pa. after severe weekend storms
As crews continue working to restore power for tens of thousands of customers, free water and ice are available at several locations
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Haley O'Brien
As of Monday afternoon, PPL’s outage map shows nearly 60,000 people are still without power across the state.
Tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents remain without power Monday after severe thunderstorms swept through the region over the holiday weekend, toppling trees, downing power lines and causing widespread outages.
As of Monday afternoon, PPL’s outage map shows nearly 60,000 people are still without power across the state. The utility company reported nearly 260,000 outages across the state since Friday.
PPL Utilities Regional Affairs Director Jane George said crews have restored service to nearly 200,000 customers, but the extent of the storm damage means some customers will have to wait several days for power to return.
“The damage from this series of storms places it among the top 10 most impactful storms in PPL Electric’s history,” she said.
More than 2,000 workers have been working since the weekend to restore power, including personnel brought in from other states and Canada.
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A tree fell on power lines over a driveway in rural Perry County, PA, on Saturday, July 4.
FirstEnergy’s Met-Ed also experienced widespread outages, with roughly 75,000 customers losing power since Friday. A company spokesperson said crews expect to restore power to the last 20,000 remaining in the dark by Tuesday.
Free water and ice are available at several GIANT locations for First Energy customers without power.
PPL customers can purchase up to three gallons of water and three 10-pound bags of ice per day from any location and will be reimbursed.
Was there a tornado in Central Pa. this weekend?
The severe weather developed after days of extreme heat, creating conditions for damaging winds, heavy rain and flash flooding across much of Central Pennsylvania, according to ABC27 Meteorologist Dan Tomaso.
“It was one of the rare instances in this area where we have sun all day, temperatures in the 90s and basically it was like a gigantic release of energy in the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s torrential rain, but it’s also 70 to 80 miles per hour winds.”
After Saturday’s storm put a damper on many July Fourth plans, another round of storms caused flash flooding and even sparked a tornado watch for some.
As of Monday, the National Weather Service had not confirmed any tornadoes in Central Pennsylvania.
While the extreme heat is over, there is a possibility for more heavy rain in some areas Monday evening.
“I don’t see as many widespread issues,” he said. “The cooler atmosphere, not as humid, not as dynamic as it was Saturday and Sunday should help quiet things today.”
The National Weather Service has a flood watch in effect through 8 p.m. Monday for Juniata, Perry, Dauphin, Schuylkill, Lebanon, Cumberland, York and Lancaster counties.
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