Centre County storm causes downed trees and wires, power outages, road closures

A Monday evening storm in Centre County caused downed trees and wires throughout the area and left hundreds without power for at least a couple hours.

At 7:30 p.m., there were more than 800 power outages in the county, according to West Penn Power. Areas most affected were Spring Township, with 266 outages, and Potter Township, with 205 outages. Most Centre County residents had power restored before 10 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for areas including State College through 6:45 p.m. Monday. A wind advisory was in effect through 1 a.m. Tuesday, with gusts up to 50 mph expected, according to the NWS advisory.

“Tree limbs could be blown down, causing isolated power outages,” the advisory stated.

Downed trees and wires were reported across the area Monday evening, including Jacksonville Road, which was closed in both directions between Walnut Ridge Road and Weights Lane, according to PennDOT. In Philipsburg, part of Coaldale Road was also closed due to wires down.

This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 7:42 PM.