Violent storm tears through Westmoreland, damages Hempfield Area High School
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Christian Hunter of Monroeville was driving home from work along Route 30 in Hempfield when he took this photo of the funnel cloud moving toward him. -
Tornado damage on Frosterville Street in Hempfield
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The National Weather Service won't determine until today whether a violent storm that smashed into Westmoreland County contained a tornado, but for those who rode it out Wednesday, there was no doubt.
Greg Kurtiak, who lives on Millersville Road in Hempfield, was in his detached garage with his daughter, Taylor, on Wednesday afternoon when hail began to fall. He looked outside and noticed the wind picking up, tossing debris above his head.
Suddenly, he said, a funnel cloud developed above a ridge. He grabbed his daughter and headed into the house.
They rode out the storm huddled near their brick fireplace.
"It sounded like a freight train," he said -- a cliched description that people everywhere use when they are caught in a tornado.
The storm obliterated his garage, turning it into a pile of rubble. A tree in the front yard was ripped up at the roots and blown through the roof of the house.
There were dozens of stories like that Wednesday night in Westmoreland County, but miraculously, said county emergency officials, no one was seriously injured.
Downed trees and power lines, ripped off roofs and smashed outbuildings were reported throughout the south-central area of the county, particularly in the Fort Allen section of Hempfield.
The weather service and Westmoreland County 911 also reported damage in Sewickley Township, North Huntingdon, Rillton, Shaner and Herminie. The damage seemed to follow a line south from Route 30 to Interstate 70, generally along Route 136.
The American Red Cross Westmoreland-Chestnut Ridge Chapter opened a shelter at the Hempfield municipal building on Woodward Drive.
"We've got a lot of damage," said Dan Stevens, spokesman for Westmoreland County emergency services. Darkness fell last night before investigators could get a full tally of the destruction.
Hempfield High School reportedly had damage to its roof, weather service meteorologist Fred McMullen said.
First Published March 24, 2011 12:00 am
