Western Pennsylvania residents brace, don't panic
Shannon Ceccoli's car sat in Newark, N.J. Her luggage was in Houston. And she stood in Pittsburgh International Airport in flip-flops as Hurricane Sandy raked the East Coast.
“My goal is to get coffee, get some breakfast and get my luggage,” Ceccoli, 39, a dog groomer from Scranton, said on Monday morning. “Then I'll try to figure out how I'm getting home.”
Airlines canceled more than 70 flights on Monday out of Pittsburgh International, adding to a list of local impacts from Sandy that included government closures, shuttered liquor stores and canceled classes across Western Pennsylvania.
Forecasters promised worsening and dangerous conditions overnight into Tuesday. But as moderate rain fell for most of the day, opinions split over how to take the reaction to weather that appeared nastier to the south and east.
“Is it overhyped? It feels that way right now” at least in Pittsburgh, said Brittany Billow, 24, of Shadyside, as she waited for the T beneath Gateway Center. “I don't even have an umbrella.”
In Beaver County, Cindy Cameron, 53, of Baden pulled down Halloween decorations outside her home to protect them from the storm but made no “mad dash” to the grocery store for bread or toilet paper. She was more concerned for her sister, whose New York home along the Hudson River is surrounded by water.
“But here? I guess it depends on what happens” during the night, Cameron said.
Forecasters expect 2.5 to 4 inches of rain in Western Pennsylvania, 3 to 5 inches in southern and eastern parts of the state and 6 to 10 inches in some locations. They expect high winds across the state.
Retailers reported a run on flashlights, candles and water by the gallon, a trend that Shawn Kennedy found in his job at Family Dollar.
Still, “All I've been hearing is, people want the rain so maybe they can get off” from work, said Kennedy, 25, of the South Side.
Gov. Tom Corbett wasn't so upbeat, declaring a state of emergency and saying Pennsylvania is a target for a storm system that could be “unprecedented in scope and magnitude.” He said about 1,600 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard were on standby, including many from Pittsburgh.
“We must watch this storm for the next 18 to 24 hours,” Corbett said.
Officials appeared concerned not just with the scope of power outages but how long they might last before power is restored.
In the meantime, Bubba's Gourmet Burghers and Beer in Bridgeville capitalized on the “Frankenstorm” with a limited-time FrankenBurgher that combines ground beef with brisket, ribs and a hot dog.
“We built it, waited for the perfect strike of lightning and there it arose like Boris Karloff on a bun,” Bubba Snider wrote in a note touting the creation.
Back at the airport, Scott Pruitt said it took about 24 hours to get from his home near Portland, Ore., to his native Latrobe. His first plane was grounded because of mechanical problems, and then he endured a lengthy tarmac delay, two long waits in terminals and one cancellation.
“It's been a long day, but I'm just trying to take this in stride,” said Pruitt, 45. “There's nothing I can do to change it.”
Across the region
• The storm on Monday night closed parts of three roads in Ligonier Township: Route 381 between the intersections of Darlington-Rector Road and Route 30; Route 259, between Springer and Marietta roads; and Two Mile Run Road, between Stahlstown-Ligonier Road and Route 30, according to state Department of Transportation.
• Scattered flooding of basements was reported in Greensburg, Hempfield, Latrobe, Trafford, Derry Borough, Jeannette and Sewickley Township, according to a spokesman for the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety.
• Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald declared a countywide disaster emergency. Pittsburgh and Allegheny County opened a joint emergency operations center in Point Breeze. Residents should call 911 in an emergency, 412-482-3250 for human services inquiries in the suburbs and the mayor's 311 nonemergency complaint line for other city issues.
• Alvin Henderson Jr., the county's chief of emergency services, warned residents in flood-prone communities such as Millvale, Etna and West Elizabeth to be ready to evacuate.
• Beaver County offices closed at 3 p.m. Monday and will remain closed through Tuesday, as will Indiana County offices. Allegheny, Butler, Westmoreland, Fayette and Washington county offices plan to open Tuesday.
• State liquor stores closed at 3 p.m. Monday, and Liquor Control Board spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said LCB will decide whether to close them Tuesday.
• PennDOT announced that all photo-licensing centers will be closed on Tuesday.
• Some school districts, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, announced closures for Tuesday. Call district offices or visit their websites for information.
• As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, airlines canceled 74 of 196 flights out of Pittsburgh International Airport and scrapped 40 flights scheduled for Tuesday.
• By Monday night, there were scattered reports of road closures — including a portion of Streets Run Road in Baldwin Borough and Clinton Avenue in North Fayette — because of minor flooding or fallen tress.
• Penn State's University Park campus curtailed hours Monday and will post information about Tuesday's schedule at live.psu.edu. Community College of Allegheny County and Robert Morris University curtailed some activities and classes; see their websites for details.
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania closed at 2 p.m. Monday. The court will be closed Tuesday. All Pennsylvania state appellate courts closed Monday and Tuesday.
• The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will be closed Tuesday.
• The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for the Ohio River through Thursday afternoon.
• Megabus canceled service to and from more than 20 cities through Tuesday. Affected routes are in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.
• Duquesne Light said anyone experiencing an outage should call 888-393-7000.
• The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority said anyone with a water or sewer emergency can reach PWSA Emergency Dispatch at 412-255-2429 or 412-255-2409.
• The storm prompted West Penn Allegheny Health System's electronic medical records to shut down Monday night because the system's server is based in New Jersey, said spokesman Dan Laurent. Workers in the five-hospital network resorted to filling out patient information and doctors' orders on paper records.
Staff writers Tom Fontaine, Brad Bumsted and Bob Bauder contributed to this report. Adam Smeltz and Rachel Weaver are staff writers for Trib Total Media. Smeltz can be reached at 412-380-5676 or asmeltz@tribweb.com. Weaver can be reached at 412-320-7948 or rweaver@tribweb.com.
