SUNBURY —
A 20-degree drop in temperatures and downed power lines were the biggest results of severe thunderstorms that rolled through the Valley on Saturday evening, bringing some relief with cooler air, but leaving 5,014 PPL customers without power as of 9 p.m.
The storms developed in northwestern Pennsylvania and tracked east-southeast, said meteorologist Michael Sager with Accuweather in State College. At one point, more than 6,000 PPL customers in the Valley were without power.
Wind gusts of 40 mph were recorded at Penn Valley Airport in Selinsgrove during the storm, Sager said. Some spots saw gusts from 50 to 60 mph.
Union and Northumberland counties were hardest hit, according to PPL.
Most of the 2,031 outages in Union County were in Limestone Township, where 2,018 people were without power; the rest were scattered among Gregg, Hartley and White Deer townships.
In Northumberland County, where 1,928 customers were without power, Milton borough was hardest hit with 1,429 customers out. The city of Shamokin, Riverside borough plus Coal, Delaware, Lewis, Rush, Turbot Upper Augusta and Zerbe townships were affected.
Downed lines closed Route 61 at Hospital Road in Coal Township, prompting a small detour of traffic through Tharptown as people began arriving for Shamokin’s annual Independence Day fireworks celebration, which took place Saturday night.
Montour County had 988 customers without power, primarily in Anthony, Derry, Liberty, Mahoning and Valley townships.
Snyder County had 67 customers without power, split between Jackson and West Beaver townships.
There were nearly 20 reports of downed power lines in Union County, according to the 911 Dispatch Center there as Emergency Management Services responded to calls of fallen trees and tree limbs.
Montour County 911 also had about 20 calls for downed lines. One report came in for three lines down at once at County Line Road in Cooper Township, the dispatcher said.
None of the 911 dispatchers for the four counties had reports of injuries or structure fires resulting from the storm. Montour County had reports of some tree tops catching fire from lightning strikes, but they were quickly brought under control, the dispatcher said.
In Snyder County, two incidents of fallen trees and wires were solved by 7 p.m.
The plummet in temperature came after the Weather Channel reported an afternoon observed high of 101 degrees in Sunbury and Selinsgrove, and 100 degrees in Danville and Lewisburg.
Record heat gripped most of the central and eastern United States, the Weather Channel reported, with a few areas making monthly or all-time high marks.
It appeared, however, that Valley residents heeded warnings to stay indoors and take care of themselves.
There was no increase in heat stroke or heat-related illness cases at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, the nursing supervisor said.
Also, a nursing supervisor at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville could not give a number of heat-related illness patients there but said that “it’s been a very uneventful day.”
An employee at Sunbury Community Hospital declined to comment.
While the cooler temperatures were welcome, Sager said the thunderstorms brought more humidity to the region as well. However, temperatures are expected to be more seasonal today and Monday, in the low- to mid-80s.
News
Storms KO power, heat
- News
-
-
Prosecutors fight appeal in Northumberland County murder case
WILLIAMSPORT — The state attorney general’s office says the murder conviction of Kevin Marinelli should stand.
-
Selinsgrove area man charged with rape
SELINSGROVE — A 24-year-old Selinsgrove man is being held in the Snyder County jail on felony rape and related charges.
-
Federal appeals court upholds most 'kids for cash' convictions
HARRISBURG — A federal appeals court is upholding all but one of the convictions in the case of a county judge in the "kids for cash" juvenile justice scandal in northeastern Pennsylvania.
-
Toomey co-sponsors bill supporting military sexual assault victims
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Pat Toomey cosponsored legislation today to assist service members who are victims of sexual assault in the military and to hold their attackers accountable.
-
Jersey shore reopens for 1st post-Sandy summer
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. — New Jersey rolled out some of its big guns Friday to proclaim that the shore is back following Superstorm Sandy, using Gov. Chris Christie and the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore" to tell a national audience the state is ready for summer fun.
-
Buffalo Valley Police search for hit-run driver
LEWISBURG — Police are reviewing surveillance video from nearby stores to try to identify the vehicle that struck and left a Lewisburg pedestrian in serious condition.
-
Northumberland County prison guard suspended
SUNBURY — A month that began with two Northumberland County Prison guards being fired, one quitting and a fourth suspended and under investigation is ending with another suspended without pay for allegedly distributing narcotics and delivering tobacco to inmates.
-
Today's Top Videos
-
Bridge collapse: Canadian trucking company says it had permits
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The trucking company involved in a Washington state bridge collapse says it received a state-issued permit to carry its oversized load across the bridge.
-
Police Log
A daily roundup of police news from around the region.
-
'Wake the Lake' kicks off Lake Augusta boating season on Saturday
SUNBURY — A number of boats will be headed to Sunbury on Saturday in order to “Wake the Lake.”
-
10 Things to Know for Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
60 hear ideas about rail trail extension
LEWISBURG — Now that the nine miles of the rail trail from Mifflinburg to East Buffalo Township is completed to the great satisfaction of area walkers and bike riders, officials of the Buffalo Valley Recreation Authority and a design team representative rolled out several options for the next phase of the project, the 1 1/2-mile trail through Lewisburg borough to the railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River.
-
Boy Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay boys
GRAPEVINE, Texas — The Boy Scouts of America's National Council has voted to ease a long-standing ban and allow openly gay boys to be accepted as Scouts. Of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal.
-
Parents sue Pittsburgh Zoo in boy’s mauling death
PITTSBURGH — The parents of a 2-year-old boy who was fatally mauled after falling into a wild African dogs exhibit last fall filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, claiming officials had ample warning that parents routinely lifted children onto a rail overlooking the exhibit so they could see better.
-
Obama defends drone strikes but says no cure-all
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday defended America’s controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S. counterterrorism policy. But he acknowledged the targeted strikes are no “cure-all” and said he is haunted by the civilians unintentionally killed.
-
Report: Nation’s kids need to get more physical
WASHINGTON — Reading, writing, arithmetic — and PE?
The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE become a core subject. -
Couple face charges in stabbings prompted by 'Idol' dispute
YORK — A couple face charges after police in York County say they stabbed each other during an argument over which contestant should win 'American Idol.'
- More News Headlines
-
Prosecutors fight appeal in Northumberland County murder case
