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Power is nearly restored in the Midstate after severe storms over the weekend left thousands without electricity. The storms hit Pennsylvania on Saturday night (July 18), causing significant outages, particularly in Perry County, where around 3,500 customers lost power, according to Local21 News.
The severe weather, characterized by high winds and heavy rain, affected multiple counties, including Dauphin, Cumberland, and York, as well as areas further west like Jefferson, Cambria, and Clearfield counties. As of Monday afternoon (July 20), nearly 60,000 residents across the state were still without power, according to WITF.
PPL Electric Utilities reported that they have restored power to over 210,000 customers since the storms began. More than 2,000 workers, including personnel from other states and Canada, have been involved in the restoration efforts. PPL Electric Utilities President Christine Martin stated, "The damage from this series of storms places it among the top 10 most impactful storms in PPL Electric’s history." The company aims to restore power to the remaining customers by Monday night.
In addition to power restoration, free water and ice are available at several locations for those still affected. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for several counties, including Perry, Dauphin, and Lancaster, due to the potential for more rain.