Aug 1, 2018 3 min read

A quick-moving storm Tuesday afternoon brought down several trees and utility poles in eastern Greene County.

Between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Cumberland Township received 2.85 inches of rain, Supervisor Bill Groves said.

In total, the township and surrounding communities in Greene County dealt with 3.13 inches of rainfall, causing quite a headache across the eastern part of the county.

“You just can’t get ready for that volume of water,” Groves said. “A lot of things happen, and you get overwhelmed very quickly.”

Township crews dealt with downed trees all over, and Groves said it didn’t seem they were concentrated in a specific area.

Cumberland Village appeared to be hardest hit with flooded basements, Carmichaels/Cumberland Township First Assistant Fire Chief Mike Riggen said. Their department assisted in pumping about a half-dozen basements in the area. Riggen added they received additional complaints of flooded basements elsewhere, but by the time crews arrived, the water receded.

In addition to the flooded basements, firefighters were called out to a rollover crash on Crucible Road between Carmichaels and Crucible that seemed to be caused by the weather conditions, Riggen said. There were no injuries. A tree also fell on a parked vehicle at the Route 21 Mobile Home Park.

Riggen added there were also trees down across Route 88, but state Department of Transportation crews were out and quickly removed them from the road.

Jeff Rhodes, Greene County 911 supervisor, also detailed several downed trees and power lines in the county, including a tree across the road at South Eighty-Eight Road and Stone Street in Carmichaels, several trees blocking the road near Ridge and McNeely roads in Jefferson Township, a tree and power lines on a vehicle on Nemacolin Road near Nemacolin, downed electrical lines near the Carmichaels Golf Club, a tree down on Kirby Road in Whiteley Township and gravel washout on Herrods Run Road in Springhill Township.

KDKA-TV reported a tree struck a home in the 600 block of Ridge Road in Jefferson Township, although the extent of the damage was not known.

Fayette County seemed to take the brunt of Tuesday’s severe weather, National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Hendricks said, with a flash flood warning issued for all of the county. Greene County received reports of downed trees, but no reports of flooding, Hendricks said.

“Honestly, when the ground is wet like that, it takes less wind to knock down the trees than it does when it’s dry,” he said. “Unfortunately, with as warm and as humid as it is, that’s fuel for thunderstorms.”

Hendricks added Greene County should be able to handle the anticipated rainfall for the next 24 hours, with less than an inch expected.