Central PA Hit Hard By Storms

First it was the wind, then thunder and lightning, and finally, the downpour. Most of central PA got hit with a nasty storm. In Indiana County, off of Rt. 22, back roads were starting to flood early in the evening. The rain turned from steady, to hard, to hail. Deputy Chief Wes
Meyers, with the Richland Township Volunteer Fire Department, says it's not the worst he's ever seen.

"We've had some major storms to come through that's hit and missed, this has been the longest one. It seems like it was three storms, one after another, after another, you get a break, then next thing you know it downpours again."

Moving east, Cambria County also got hit hard. From sinkholes, to trees through fences, even downed power lines lying in water. Power was out in much of the area, in homes, businesses and even intersections. Closed roads cut off the main routes to Memorial Medical in Johnstown. Deputy chief Meyers says he doesn't expect to get much sleep Thursday night.

"It's been a very long night, as a matter of fact, our radio frequency did go down, and we're on our way up there right now to the tower to try to get that back up and running, so we can at least talk on our Richland Fire radios."

Further north in Clearfield, branches and trees are ripped off and thrown down. Even a gas meter catches fire. And although, it wasn't hit hard, Blair County felt the storms impact right after dinner time. Deputy Chief Meyers offers some advice for those that are still in trouble.

"If you're at home, stay home, if you don't have to go out, don't go out. If you go out and the roadway is impassable, go slow or don't go through it, find another way around."

Chief Meyers says his department alone has been out on over 35 calls Thursday night, and expects that number to grow.