A severe storm took down power lines on West College Avenue in Ferguson Township. Photo by Greg Guise
Widespread power outages and road closures continued on Wednesday in Centre County after a severe storm on Tuesday evening took down trees and power lines throughout the area.
More than 31,000 West Penn Power customers in Centre County remained without power as of 11 a.m. on Wednesday. West Penn Power spokesperson Todd Meyers said the storm, which had winds up to 80 mph in some places, left widespread damage.
“We are in the process of assessing that damage and hope to determine some ETRs (estimated time of restoration) before too long,” Meyers wrote in an email. “One thing is clear, this will be a multi-day restoration for FirstEnergy throughout much of Western and Central Pennsylvania. Think marathon, not sprint.”
West Penn Power and Penelec’s service areas had approximately 325,000 outages and that was down to about 185,000 by 11 a.m. Wednesday. Meyers said that “every effort is being made to get the lights back on for our customers as quickly as safety permits.”
“We have reached out for assistance to help our local West Penn Power and Penelec crews make repairs and restore power to our customers,” Meyers wrote. “We have several hundred line contractors and FirstEnergy crews from unaffected areas headed to the Centre County region packed for several days to work. You may also see a helicopter in the air patrolling lines for damage to identify areas for repairs.”
Customers can check the West Penn Power outages site for updates.
“We recognize electricity is the lifeblood of modern living and commerce and greatly appreciate our customers’ patience as we work round the clock to get their power restored,” Meyers wrote.
Road Closures
Several state routes in Centre County are closed and PennDOT expected the closures to be in place through the end of the week:
- West College Avenue between Whitehall Road and Bristol Avenue in Ferguson Township.
- Route 144 between Upper Georges Valley Road and Short Road in Potter Township.
- Axemann Road between Rishel Hill Road and Steeplechase Drive in Spring Township.
- Fox Hollow Road between Hemlock Hill Road and Black Bear Lane in Patton Township.
“PennDOT urges drivers to take alternate routes and, if they encounter road closures, to obey the posted signage and not proceed further along the route,” the department wrote. “There have been several instances of drivers ignoring posted signage, which places them in proximity to downed utilities and puts them at risk of serious injury or death due to electrocution.”
State College Borough reported the following road closures on Wednesday morning:
- Westerly Parkway is closed between South Sparks Street and O’Bryan Lane
- Easterly Parkway is closed between South Pugh Street and Old Boalsburg Road
- 1000 Block of South Pugh Street is closed
- 400 Block of Orlando Avenue is closed
- 300 block of West Fairmount Avenue is restricted to one lane
- 600 Block of Berry Alley is closed
- Nimitz Avenue and Penfield Road are closed
CATA
The Centre Area Transportation Authority is experiencing several detours on fixed routes and electrical outages at the Customer Service Center,
All fixed routes are operational but the N, R, AC, CC, HU and H routes are experiencing detours. For detailed information regarding detours visit catabus.com/rider-alerts/.
Some bus shelters have been damaged by the storm. Passengers should avoid the affected facilities and remain cautious of downed wires and other storm-related hazards. CATA is currently doing a systematic survey of bus stops to assess storm damage.
CATA’s Customer Service Center, 108 E. Beaver Ave. is experiencing and electrical outage. Customers can sill call the Customer Service number at (814) 238-CATA (2282) to schedule trips for CATAGO!, CATARIDE, Bellefonte/Benner B-Line and Willowbank Building/Courthouse, but should anticipate delays.
Closings
State College Area School District schools were closed on Wednesday as six of 12 schools were without power and emergency generators cannot be used for the entire school day, according to the district. Road closures also made managing bus routes difficult. After-school activities are canceled.
Bald Eagle Area School District moved to a flexible instruction day. In the Bellefonte Area School District, Marion-Walker Elementary was on a flexible instruction day. And in Penns Valley, Miles Township Elementary students were transferred to Centre Hall Elementary due to a power outage.
Mount Nittany Health’s Blue Course primary care and lab, Bellefonte lab and pain management are closed. The Sleep Medicine Lab on Old Gatesburg Road is closed until 7 p.m.
Penn State Health’s Benner Pike location is closed and patient visits switched to virtual visits if appropriate. Others will be rescheduled.
Schlow Library is closed.
The Centre County Courthouse is closed. Preliminary hearings are being conducted virtually.
Many other businesses are closed on Wednesday throughout the area.
