ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Neighbors along Ridge Road in South Park are cleaning up after what the National Weather Service is calling a “downburst” hit the area in the early morning hours Friday.
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“I can’t use the words I want to say. Just, Holy Mother of God. What the hell happened out here? Just unbelievable,” Charlie Weinheimer said. He’s been in the area for 75 years.
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“Tree over here that’s down on my shed. My poor neighbor has a tree down on his Lincoln over there. Just a mess,” he said.
That Lincoln belongs to Tiffany Burnett’s dad.
“It’s his vintage car. The car he’s always wanted since he was a young boy,” she said.
She described waking up and hearing the high winds.
“We woke up. I heard a very loud ‘woommm’ coming through the house. I grabbed her, threw her,” she said, referencing her 10-year-old daughter Aubrionna.
“It was very scary cause I thought the tree was going to fall. I kept looking out the window and the branches were moving a lot. it was really scary,” Aubrionna said.
Their yard is a disaster area. Trees are down all over and the family’s trampoline flipped and bent up against a tree.
According to the National Weather Service, wind speeds reached about 90 mph. That’s about as strong as an EF-1 tornado.
“Everything can be replaced except for my kids, my husband, my dad and our neighbor Charlie,” Tiffany said.
It’s going to be a costly cleanup for families. Charlie tells us tree removal alone could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
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