Cleanup continues from wrath of 8 tornadoes in Western Pa. region

Daniel Andreko knew a tornado might be coming after receiving an emergency alert on his smartphone.

But as he watched the rain turn from a drizzle to a torrential downpour with howling winds shortly before 8:30 p.m. Thursday, he thought the warning might have been a false alarm.

“I was just watching the storm outside my front window, and it didn’t look all that bad,” said Andreko, 33, of Grand Avenue in Hampton.

It wasn’t until he checked the rear of his house that he realized how serious it was.

“My house wasn’t touched, but the shed in my backyard and the fence were blown apart, and there was a large tree down,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of storms, but nothing like that one. This one looked like it cut right through the alley.”

National Weater Service surveyors determined at least eight tornadoes touched down in the region Thursday evening. Surveyors are still gathering information about them and other potential twisters, NWS meteorologist Jason Frazier said.

Confirmed tornadoes were near Hampton and the Mount Nebo section of Ohio Township in Allegheny County; Butler in Butler County; Hopewell and Peters Township townships and West Finley in Washington County and Mt. Pleasant area in Jefferson County, Ohio. The weather service was expected to survey other damaged areas in Franklin Township in Beaver County and Lancaster Township in Butler County Saturday.

“It will be a busy few days,” he said.

Among the hardest-hit areas was the neighborhood surrounding St. Ursula Church on Duncan Avenue in Hampton. Trees toppled onto utility lines and homes, knocking out power to most residents. No injuries were reported, and crews were out early Friday working to restore power.

Mike Hanlon said he was ready to get to work Friday morning removing the debris from the large tree that landed in the backyard of his Hampton home.

“I’d love to start doing something to clean this mess up, but my shed was crushed by the tree with all my tools inside,” he said.

A tree fell on an occupied vehicle in Hampton near the intersection of Middle Road and John Giel Drive, according to Allegheny County’s Twitter account, and there were reports of downed wires along roads throughout Hampton, including sections of Linwood, Parkview and Ralph and the Harts Run/Saxonburg intersection.

Duquesne Light reported, as of 1:30 p.m. Friday, 107 customers were without power. West Penn Power reported 463 customers were waiting for power to be restored as of 1:20 p.m.

On Thursday night, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross set up two disaster action teams, staging at the Hampton Volunteer Fire Department. Any Allegheny County residents in need of Red Cross assistance may call 1-800-733-2767.