UPDATE: Power Outages, Flooding, Downed Wires Reported in North Hills After Storm

LATEST UPDATE: As of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, less than 100 Duquesne Light customers were without power with restoration planned by 4 p.m., according to the company spokesman.

WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, about 950 Duquesne Light customers were without power with restoration planned by 4 p.m., according to the company spokesman.

UPDATE FROM TUESDAY NIGHT: 

About 4,500 Duquesne Light customers are without power as of 10 p.m Tuesday after thunderstorms moved through the area.

For the North Hills, the estimated restoration time is 4 p.m. Wednesday , said Duquesne spokesman Joseph Vallarian.

Estimated restoration time is 8 a.m. Wednesday for Beaver County and western Allegheny County, 4 p.m. Wednesday for the City of Pittsburgh, and 8 a.m. Wednesday for eastern Allegheny County, he said.

Initially 12,000 Duquesne Light customers were out of power after the storms. 

UPDATE: As another storm moved through the area around dinnertime Tuesday, power went out in the Richland area when a tree came down on power lines on Dickey Road.

Part of Dickey was closed to traffic between Route 8 and Northern Tier Library in the 4000 block as emergency personnel waited for Duquesne Light to arrive.

By 8:30 p.m., power was back on in Richland Township neighborhoods.

UPDATE: About 7,200 Duquesne Light customers are without power as of 6 p.m. Tuesday after thunderstorms caused damage throughout the area.

"Duquesne Light crews are in the process of restoring power by removing trees and repairing downed wires," said Joey Vallarian, manager of media and community relations for Duquesne Light Co.

"System restoration time is undetermined at this time, as the damage to the electrical system is still being assessed," he said.

First Energy reports nearly all Penn Power customers in Pine Township have their power restored as of 6:20 p.m.

At 4 p.m., Duquesne Light reported 12,000 customers without power.

Flooded roads, downed wires and trees were reported throughout the North Hills in the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm Tuesday afternoon.

Thunder crashed and rain poured down in the Pine-Richland area as the National Weather Service upgraded its severe thunderstorm watch to a warning at 1:27 p.m. Tuesday. The warning expired at 2 p.m.

A severe thunderstorm watch was lifted—originally, it was set to remain in effect until 7 p.m. for 11 Pennsylvania counties, including Allegheny and Butler.

At the height of the storm, reports of downed power lines and trees were heard on the scanner, along with possible lightning strikes in areas around Allegheny County.

Route 910 and North Chapel Road reportedly had flooding problems, according to scanner reports.

In addition, parts of Route 19/Perry Highway, Babcock Boulevard and McKnight Road also were experiencing flooding.

North Hills Patch, through its Twitter updates, reported power outages that included traffic signals on McKnight, Babcock and Siebert.

The National Weather Service reminds motorists not to drive into areas where water covers the road.

"The water depth may be too great to allow safe passage. Move to higher ground," the weather service website states.

Duquesne Light warned that downed wires are a safety hazard and should be avoided because they pose the danger of electrical shock and injury. 

Residents are also asked to report outages by calling Duquesne Light at 1-888-393-7000 or by visiting www.duquesnelight.com.

North Hills Patch Reports The Following for Ross and West View:

A fast moving line of severe thunderstorms caused widespread, mostly minor damage in parts of Ross and West View Tuesday afternoon.

Trees brought down power lines, in some cases sparking small fires, and forced the closure of several intersections.

Generators were powering traffic signals on McKnight Road, Babcock Boulevard, Thompson Run Road, and Cemetery Lane, just to name a few.

Basements in at least two homes in the 100 block of Rochester Road were flooded. 

Fire crews were also called to the Home Depot on Ross Park Mall Drive where a back-up generator was smoking after a tree near the rear of the building took out a power line.

Duquesne Light officials say they are working to restore power for 12,000 customers in their coverage area.

Penn Power said it had fewer than 500 customers without power in the Ross/West View area.