Power outages reported following storm

A severe thunderstorm wreaked havoc across the region Tuesday afternoon, with winds reported at nearly 80 miles per hour. The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning shortly after 4 p. m. , with recorded gusts of 70 miles per hour at Wheeling-Ohio County Airport and 71 miles per hour at Pittsburgh International. Brooke County suffered the most extensive outages, leaving approximately 80 percent of its 11,622 customers without power.

Hancock County reported a 44. 4 percent outage rate, affecting 7,127 out of 16,088 customers, with Weirton experiencing the heaviest concentration. Jefferson County also faced outages, with AEP reporting 130 cases impacting 16,576 customers. Local officials are assessing damage and coordinating restoration efforts to restore power to affected areas. The storm highlights the vulnerability of infrastructure to extreme weather events, raising questions about preparedness and response strategies.

The community's resilience will be tested as recovery efforts begin in the wake of this storm.