Severe storms rocked the Pittsburgh area on Tuesday evening, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes as wind gusts up to 70 mph brought down trees and prompted tornado warnings. 

Shortly before 7:30 p.m., Duquesne Light, which covers parts of Beaver and Allegheny counties, reported over 200,000 customers without power. First Energy is also reporting nearly 280,000 customers in the dark across Pennsylvania, with tens of thousands in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. 

On its website, Duquesne Light says crews are working to assess damage, and once that’s done, estimated times of restoration will be posted. 

Photos show damaged buildings, downed trees after intense winds sweep through Pittsburgh area 13 photos

Storms leave trail of damage

The storms brought extremely strong winds to the area. The National Weather Service says the Pittsburgh airport reported a 71.3 mph wind gust, which is the third strongest ever recorded there. 

The storms were quick but powerful, and people across western Pennsylvania are beginning to assess the damage. There are multiple reports of downed trees coming in. 

On Pittsburgh’s South Side, parts of a roof are scattered across the intersection of East Carson Street and the Birmingham Bridge. In Millvale, there was heavy damage to the roof of a building on East Ohio Street. The roof also blew off Fiori’s, a beloved Pittsburgh pizza shop on West Liberty Avenue. 

Photos from downtown Beaver also show a mess, with trees down in multiple spots. 

Pittsburgh 911 system “experiencing some outages,” officials say

Pittsburgh Public Safety said the city’s 911 system is “experiencing some outages” due to Tuesday’s severe storms.

Officials said if you are having trouble getting through, call your police zone if there is an emergency. Residents can find the numbers here. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

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