Winds take out centenarian tree in Buffalo Township
A tree that had been firmly rooted in the yard at 233 N. Pike Road in Buffalo Township for decades met its end Tuesday, when winds ripped off its top half, leaving the other half in the ground.
Roy Gallagher, the homeowner, said Wednesday the house is estimated to be at least 170 years old, and the tree in the front yard is present in every photo he has seen of the land. He was not home during the afternoon storms, which is when he suspects the tree was ripped in two, but said there was no damage to the house, and many of the tree’s branches remained intact.
“It must have been lifted into the air and just twisted off,” Gallagher said. “There's no damage to the branches.”
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a severe thunderstorm warning Tuesday for an area that included Buffalo Township, effective from about 6:40 to 7:45 p.m. that evening. The warning said the affected area could experience winds reaching up to 60 mph, as well as pea-sized hail throughout the evening.
The storm left hundreds of people in Butler County without power. According to FirstEnergy — parent company of Penn Power and West Penn Power — 422 of its Butler County customers were without power as of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. Central Electric Cooperative reported 125 of its county customers were still in the dark at the same time.
By 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, West Penn Power reported 37 customers were without power.
