Oklahoma City (AP) — At least two people were drowned when a vehicle was captured in an Oklahoma flood on Wednesday, flooding a slow, moving thunderstorm across that state and parts of Texas, authorities said Pennsylvania residents picked up three powerful storms.
Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms mean the risk of flash floods in the southern U.S. by early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Part of the rain in Oklahoma and Texas
The storm has soaked much of southern Oklahoma and northern Texas, flooding and washing roads, canceling or delaying hundreds of flights at major airports.
A man owned in Oklahoma after his car wiped out the car from the Pottawatomy County Highway, Freeland Sheriff Wood said.
“My lieutenant tried to save him and he got caught up in the same mess,” Wood said.
The aide was treated at a local hospital and released, Wood said. The floods have closed nearly 30 roads in the county.
Another own death was reported in nearby Lincoln County after the driver’s vehicle was trapped in floods along the Prague highway.
State officials reported that numerous drivers had been rescued from the floods, but some residents of a small city in Lexington reported that they had evacuated their homes when the water rose.
Oklahoma climate scientist Gary McManus said Oklahoma City surpassed the 1947 mark on Wednesday with 11.94 inches (30.33 cm) of rain.
Oklahoma was poised to break the 1942 record, with a statewide rainfall average of 8.32 inches (21.13 cm), McManus said.
In the Dallas area, Dallas Lovefield and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport were based in part of the day due to thunderstorms, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at DFW International Airport, and dozens more have been cancelled at Lovefield, according to FlightAware.
Pennsylvania storm knocks out power to hundreds of thousands
The powerful storm on Tuesday night knocked out power to more than 425,000 customers in Pennsylvania and 40,000 customers in Ohio. Poweroutage.us. Neighboring states have also reported thousands of outages. About 300,000 Pennsylvania clients and around 19,000 in Ohio were out of power late Wednesday.
A spokesman for Pittsburgh-based Duques In Wright called the storm’s damage “unprecedented” by knocking out the power of around 250,000 customers and knocking out the power of trees and Snap Poles. The utility brings external help to restore power, and the outage could last a week, a spokesperson said.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro investigated the damage in Allegheny County on Wednesday, stopping at Fiori, a popular pizzeria with a stormy roof.
Authorities say the three deaths are linked to the Pennsylvania storm
Police say a Pennsylvania man was taken from electricity Tuesday evening while trying to wipe out a mulch fire near a utility pole. The 22-year-old man died at the scene. State University Police said they believe the man’s death is linked to the storm.
In Pittsburgh, the first responder was called to the South Side Slope area for reporting someone electrocuted on live wire, and the person was killed at the scene, according to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department. The department cited multiple dangers, such as fallen trees and possible live wires, urging residents to take extreme caution when moving around the city.
Allegheny County officials confirmed that the 67-year-old man was killed by a fallen tree at a Rostownship home just outside Pittsburgh.
Team investigating wind damage in the Pittsburgh area
The National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office said destructive wind damage was observed throughout the area. The straight line winds have broken past 80 mph to 90 mph (129 kph to 145 kph). This is stronger than many EF0 and EF1 tornadoes commonly found in the region, he said in a social media post.
The thunderstorm line that swept through Pennsylvania Tuesday night formed what is called the “Echo of the Bow,” or the strongest, incredibly strong windy line at the top of the curve, according to state meteorologist John Bowen. If the vertex passed, the damage was the most serious, he said.
Pittsburgh International Airport recorded the third highest gust of wind in modern history at 71 mph (114 kph), according to Liana Lupo, a meteorologist at Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office. The team investigated wind damage in Wilkinsburg, just outside Pittsburgh, but could not conclude that the tornado had landed, Lupo said.
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Levy was reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press authors Jamie Sten of Dallas and Sarah Blumfield, Cockiesville, Maryland, contributed to the report.
