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Persistent storms cause flooding, damage in many areas; Beautiful weekend in store

The rain that moved into much of the Channel 11 viewing area Thursday night caused flooding in many parts of the region.

PITTSBURGH — In Ross Township, a WPXI-TV crew discovered that a fallen tree had caused power lines and a transformer to fall onto Thompson Run Road. The roadway was closed while crews worked to clear the scene.

In Hampton Township, a 100-year-old tree brought down cable and phone lines near the intersection of Route 8 and McCully Road.

“It’s a huge tree,” Bruce Chase said.

Chase said he figured the tree would topple sooner or later because the base has been rotting out.

“It’s been getting ready to for quite a while with these different storms we’ve had,” Chase said.

Fortunately, the tree didn’t hit any cars and caused no injuries. Police directed traffic for about three hours while crews worked to remove it.

In Plum, a baseball complex was damaged by flood waters. Officials said of the eight fields located on New Texas and Ross Hollow roads, only two are useable.

A crew at the scene said the batting cages and picnic areas were also damaged by the rain.

Meanwhile, in Lower Burrell, firefighters were called to Greensburg Road to help residents pump water out of their homes.

The Westmoreland County Public Safety director said six to eight homes and businesses were affected.

In Plum, a baseball complex was damaged by flood waters. Officials said of the eight fields located on New Texas and Ross Hollow roads, only two are useable.

A crew at the scene said the batting cages and picnic areas were also damaged by the rain.

“When my wife told my son this morning he broke down and started crying. He said, ‘Does this mean I’m done playing baseball?’” Mike Bostard said.

Bostard, the field director, told Channel 11 News that debris, mud and water are everywhere.

“There’s a lot of pumping to get that puddle off there,” he said. “The cost to redo one infield is about $8,000.”

Volunteers and the boro will work all weekend to clean up the mess and determine a course of action.

“We’ll look at alternate means to see if local communities have field time we can use to play our games,” Bostard said.

The good news is most of the rain will conclude by Friday night making way for a beautiful weekend

The humidity will break by Friday evening with a front passing through. High pressure builds in for the weekend, and will allow for plenty of sunshine. It will also be much more comfortable with less humidity.

Were you able to take any photos of flooding in your area? Send them our way on social media using the hashtag #WPXIStorm or CLICK HERE to submit them online.

WPXI

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