Fayette, Westmoreland counties hardest-hit by Thursday's strong storms

PITTSBURGH — Fayette and Westmoreland counties were the hardest-hit by Thursday’s strong storms, leaving a path of damage in their wake.

The continued rain Friday forced the postponement of at least one high school football game. The

Bethlehem Center-Charleroi game was rescheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday

, according to Bethlehem-Center district officials.

VIEWER PHOTOS: Storm damage throughout Pittsburgh area

From trees snapped near Indian Creek Farm in Cook Township to a building leveled at Donegal Marine Sales & Services, damage was widespread in eastern Westmoreland County.

Residents of Donegal told Channel 11 News that they had never experienced such a severe storm.

Kenneth Ferree, who was inside his trailer at Laurel Highlands Camplands during Thursday night’s storm, described the minutes that made him fear for his life.

"There's nothing to hold onto. You're there for the ride,” he said. “I believe somehow either the trailer was already tipping, or the porch was coming down around me. I hit my head off the roof. I tumbled over the counter onto the floor."

Ferree said he didn’t think he was going to survive but was able to walk away with an injured back and sore wrist.

"Even with heart attacks and stents, that didn't scare me. Last night did. It takes a lot to scare me. I thought I was dead. I was going to die,” he said.

Ferree said he was on the phone with his wife as the storm rolled into Donegal.

"And then it really got scary because now the wind really picked up. It had to be 100 mph winds to move me and move my trailer,” he said.

Ferree told Channel 11 News that with so much force, only one thing went through his mind.

"Don't throw me. Just tip me. Don't throw me. I can survive a roll, but I didn't want to end up on the turnpike. That's the only thing that went through my mind. I thought I was gone,” he said.

Meanwhile in Fayette County, not one but two trees came down on North Six Street in Connellsville. One took out a utility pole and power lines, and the other tree crashed into two homes.

Pete Maddas said he was sitting on his porch when he saw the tree fall onto his neighbors’ homes. No one was injured, but the houses suffered significant damage.

“The shame about (it is) people just bought the one house,” Maddas said.

The Fayette County Emergency Management Agency said Connellsville and Dunbar Township were the hardest-hit areas. Wind gusts in those areas reached 70 mph, causing power outages. Dunbar Elementary School was closed Friday due to a power outage.

West Penn Power said at one point, more than 1,500 people were without electricity in the area.

Winds in Connellsville were so powerful that a roof was torn off an old barn on Duck Pond Road.

National Weather Service surveyors said they were not convinced that a tornado touched down in Connellsville despite the damage reports.

For complete Severe Weather Team 11 coverage, hour-by-hour forecasts and more, visit our weather page and watch Channel 11 News.

Cox Media Group