After winds exceeding 60 mph rolled through the Pittsburgh region Friday night, downing trees and power lines, nearly 180,000 West Penn Power and Duquesne Light customers in the Pittsburgh region continued to be without power Saturday morning.
A 66 mph wind gust was recorded at Pittsburgh International Airport, the National Weather Service said. It was the fourth strongest wind gust on record not caused by a thunderstorm.
The top gust ever was 83 mph on July 10, 1992, which the weather service said was from a thunderstorm.
The top wind gust from yesterday’s event was 75 mph recorded just before 6 p.m. at DuBois, which the weather service said was comparable to an EF-0 tornado or a Category 1 hurricane.
As of 10 a.m. Saturday, Duquesne Light was reporting about 108,000 customers without power, with about 98,000 in Allegheny County and 11,500 in Beaver County.
West Penn Power was reporting about 71,000 customers out in southwestern Pennsylvania — about 19,000 in Westmoreland County, 16,300 in Washington County, 12,500 in Butler County, 9,200 in Allegheny County, 6,300 in Armstrong County, 2,800 in Beaver County, 2,700 in Indiana County and 2,100 in Fayette County.
Duquesne Light asked for help from utility crews in neighboring states and Canada to support restoration efforts across the Pittsburgh region, a Duquesne Light spokesperson said.
“More than 500 additional crews are expected to arrive today to assist with damage assessment and power restoration,” the spokesperson said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we believe this support is necessary as we continue to monitor forecasts calling for additional severe weather. The added crews will help accelerate restoration for impacted customers while also ensuring we’re appropriately staffed should another weather event occur.”
Big tree down after wind storms on Biddle Ave in Wilkinsburg. Talked to homeowner pic.twitter.com/MV8D3FGBsY
— Ben Schmitt (@bencschmitt) March 14, 2026
Updates regarding West Penn Power will be available on the outage map at FirstEnergy Storm Center PA as they become available, spokeswoman Brittany Al Dawood said.
“Please keep in mind our crews cannot safely operate bucket trucks when wind speeds exceed 40 miles per hour, which could delay power restoration,” Dawood said.
It was unclear Saturday morning when power was expected to be fully restored to the Pittsburgh area.
“We did see a lot of damage basically everywhere,” said Kasey Reigner, spokeswoman for Allegheny County Emergency Services.
Reigner said effects from the high winds stretched across the entire county, but was unable to provide immediate details regarding what areas were hit the hardest or if any incidents resulted in injury as of 8:30 a.m.
Westmoreland County 911 received more than 1,500 calls within five hours, said Cassandra Kovatch, spokeswoman for Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety.
While there were reports of trees and wires down countywide, the hardest hit areas were Murrysville, Salem Township, Washington Township, and Delmont Borough, she said.
“There was a report of a tree into a house in Sewickley Township, a tree down on a vehicle with no injuries on Orme Road in Ligonier Township, and a tree down on a vehicle with reported injuries in Ligonier Township,” she said. “There were also two large brush fires reported, one on Athena Drive in Salem Township with a structure involved, and a second on North Washington Road in Washington Township. There were numerous other brush fires reported across the county.”
PennDOT was reporting the following roads were closed in the area:
Allegheny County
• Noblestown Road (Route 3048) between Walker Avenue and Columbia Avenue in Collier Township — Closed due to a downed tree in wires
• Bull Creek Road (Route 1034) between Howes Run Road and Lardintown Road in Fawn Township — Closed due to a downed tree in wires
• Bakerstown Road (Route 1028/Route 908) at Freeport Road in Fawn Township — Closed due to a downed tree in wires
Beaver County
- Green Garden Road (Route 3016) between Todd Road and Hunter Gaze Lane in Hopewell and Raccoon townships – Closed due to a downed tree in wires
- Route 151 (Bocktown Road) between Independence Road and Stone Quarry Road in Independence and Hopewell townships – Closed due to a downed tree in wires
- Brodhead Road (Route 3007) between Crestmont Drive and Circle Drive in Hopewell Township – Closed due to a downed tree in wires
- Park Road (Route 4018) between Bradys Run Road and Bradys Ridge Road in Brighton Township – Closed due to downed wires across the roadway
- Park Road (Route 4019) at Achortown Road in Chippewa Township – Closed due to a downed tree in wires
- 37th Street Extension (Route 4040) between McKinley Road and Route 551 in Chippewa Township – Closed due to downed trees in wires
- Shenango Road (Route 4021) between Braun Road and Route 51 in Chippewa Township – Closed due to downed trees in wires
- Dogwood Drive (Route 1029) between Harmony Road and Wises Grove Road in Daugherty Township – Closed due to downed trees in wires
- Harmony Road (Route 1016) between Dogwood Drive and Tulip Drive in Daugherty Township – Closed due to downed trees in wires
- Cherry Hill Road (Route 1002) between Lark Drive and Brown Road in North Sewickley Township – Closed due to downed trees in wires
- Route 18 between Weber Road and Century Farm Road in Hanover Township – Closed due to downed tree in wires
- Route 151 between Ridge Road and Route 18 in Raccoon Township – Closed due to downed tree in wires
Drivers are reminded to reduce speed and remain alert for debris on the roadway, allow extra time for travel, never approach or drive over downed utility lines and avoid driving through areas where trees, limbs or wires are down, PennDOT said.
The forecast for Pittsburgh and surrounding counties is mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s and wind gusts up to 35 mph on Saturday morning. The forecast for Saturday is mostly cloudy with lows in the upper 30s and wind gusts up to 20 mph after midnight, according to the National Weather Service in Moon.
Severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts are possible with a strong cold front Monday morning and early afternoon, the weather service says.
This story is developing.