Central PA Summer 2026 Discussion/Obs Thread

[Yardstickgozinya]

The power companies will never mention cutouts needing closed because idiots will go out there with  diy hot sticks and try to flip them themselves. Substation is what they always say because they're locked off, and people can't try to fix them themselves. 

[Jns2183]

They still seem adamant it will be fixed by tomorrow night, but I'm also starting to see Thursday night pop up in some of the smaller outages on the map

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[Jns2183]

I'm just still shocked I haven't seen a single ppl truck, vehicle, tree removal service, anything. There's a ton of business still out of power including urgent care center close to me, gas stations, restaurants

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[Yardstickgozinya]

Power companies busy, but it probably wouldn't hurt to walk around and send emails, if you notice these  flipped downwards on your streets. 

[Yardstickgozinya]

Also, i'm not putting all the blame on evasive insects, but as i'm getting back to work, i'm noticing they definitely had their hand in this. 

[Jns2183]

Also, i'm not putting all the blame on evasive insects, but as i'm getting back to work, i'm noticing they definitely had their hand in this. 

Which evasive ones

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[Jns2183]

Also, i'm not putting all the blame on evasive insects, but as i'm getting back to work, i'm noticing they definitely had their hand in this. 

Here

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[canderson]

1 hour ago, Jns2183 said:

I'm just still shocked I haven't seen a single ppl truck, vehicle, tree removal service, anything. There's a ton of business still out of power including urgent care center close to me, gas stations, restaurants

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They just got 3500 people in CH back online. They turned on parts of Fairview Twp an hour ago.  They’re doing as best they can - in some kf these they have to repair multiple things before they can turn on a sector. 

[canderson]

Wasn’t it supposed to pour rain tonight?

[Jns2183]

Wasn’t it supposed to pour rain tonight?

East winds gave us the drizzle and stable atmosphere

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[Superstorm]

East winds gave us the drizzle and stable atmosphere

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Drizzle, cloudy “spring” morning.


.

[Mount Joy Snowman]

Low of 67 with .01” of rain from the very light drizzle occurring throughout the day. Looks like pretty standard mid-summer type weather ahead. 

[canderson]

16 minutes ago, Mount Joy Snowman said:

Low of 67 with .01” of rain from the very light drizzle occurring throughout the day. Looks like pretty standard mid-summer type weather ahead. 

Next thing we have to watch is if the death ridge out west will make it to the coast or get thwarted in the flyover states. 

If it makes it here, we will have another week like we just experienced. Extreme heat and violent storms. 

[paweather5]

Finally just got my power back on. 

[Voyager]

44 minutes ago, canderson said:

Next thing we have to watch is if the death ridge out west will make it to the coast or get thwarted in the flyover states. 

If it makes it here, we will have another week like we just experienced. Extreme heat and violent storms. 

It seems to be shaping up to be the roller coaster summer I thought it would be. The severity of the storms I didn't expect, though.

[Jns2183]

Next thing we have to watch is if the death ridge out west will make it to the coast or get thwarted in the flyover states. 
If it makes it here, we will have another week like we just experienced. Extreme heat and violent storms. 

Any updates on the power situation. I feel like I'm waiting on them to pull the rug out from under me and push it back further

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[canderson]

24 minutes ago, Jns2183 said:

Any updates on the power situation. I feel like I'm waiting on them to pull the rug out from under me and push it back further

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Nothing since yesterday. They got something like 9,000 back online last night on the west shore. 

[ChescoWx]

Some light showers have been around this morning, and we will continue with some small chances of these through the day. We clear up tomorrow with what looks to be our best weather day of the week with sunny skies and highs several degrees below normal July levels in the upper 70's to near 80. Our next chance of showers and storms looks to arrive on Thursday night into Friday morning.

[pasnownut]

power back on yesterday afternoon.  Dehumidifier runnin in lower level.  Got lucky.  For those still not back up, hang in there.  Still lots of cleanup to be done in many areas.  Saw progress on way to office, but still much to do. 

[Jns2183]

A little summary of first few days of July

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[Jns2183]

I called PPL and all they could say was sometime between today and Friday. The app still says today, the latest I was able to even find in the app was Thursday. I'm torn when I should just bite the bullet and get a room at the Springhill Suites by me. I think I'll try to wait till 6pm. I did a 1.5 mile walk around our neighborhood and nobody has even seen a ppl vehicle yet in the entire neighborhood and I managed to talk to about 20 people

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[Yardstickgozinya]

20 hours ago, Jns2183 said:

Which evasive ones

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 There's so many. Still, a lot of dead fall occurring from all the emerald ash borer.  The hemlocks that fell in my backyard have been dealing with a infestation of Hemlock woolly adelgid.  You can see the bore holes and serpentine galleries on a lot of the older stuff that's down. 

[Yardstickgozinya]

19 hours ago, Jns2183 said:

Here

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Not every pole has a cutout . There's also different types of cutout fuses, the ones that I showed in my picture yesterday are the most common, out my way but there's also the blade connectors like looks like a giant swinging blade or an elongated axe head like they have in lisburn, I'll snap a shot when i'm out there later. They're still out of power out that way and the blades are swung out of position. 

[Yardstickgozinya]

Sorry @Jns2183  I may am not understood your question properly. 

[Yardstickgozinya]

Actually, I may be putting more blame on the insects than I initially had thought. Diving around today, I am really noticing the amount of tree damage compared to the amount of home damage is quite disproportionate. I think this storm really showcased the  impact evasive insects can have. Even though many of the trees  may not be showing damage on the outside the last several years of growth for many trees has  been compromised buy insects such as the spotted and lantern fly hindering uptake.

[Yardstickgozinya]

Not that there's not any, but with as much tree damage that has happened throughout the area.I would expect to see a lot more soffits , siding and shingles removed.

[Yardstickgozinya]

Take it with the grain of salt because it is Google AI but I went ahead and asked the question, did evasive insects have any impact on power outages in central pennsylvania, from this last storm, and this what it found for me. 

 

 

 

Yes, invasive insects significantly contributed to the extent of the power outages across Central Pennsylvania. While severe winds and heavy rain from the storms were the direct cause of the downed lines, many of the trees and large branches that failed were already weakened or killed by invasive pests, making them highly susceptible to snapping Unitil. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Several key factors link invasive insects to the power outages:

• Emerald Ash Borer: This invasive beetle has killed millions of ash trees across Pennsylvania Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov). These dead, brittle trees easily topple onto power lines during severe wind events. [1, 2, 3]
• Spotted Lanternfly: These insects feed on the sap of various hardwoods, excreting honeydew that leads to tree-killing black sooty mold Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov). [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Gypsy Moth: Long a pest in the region, repeated defoliation by gypsy moths starves trees, leaving them vulnerable to both disease and high winds Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov). [1, 2]

Utility companies and foresters note that trees damaged by these insects decay from the inside out, creating major structural weaknesses Unitil. As a result, even winds that a healthy tree might withstand are enough to bring down these compromised trees onto the electrical grid.

For continuous updates on power restoration efforts in your area, please consult your local provider like FirstEnergy.

 

 

 

[canderson]

@Jns2183you should have power by tomorrow night unless you have a specific issue (like a tree pulled off your home’s electric panel). PPL in the PEMA call I was on is on track to get all lines up by tomorrow evening - and most by tonight actually.  
 

Cluster outages will be a thing but grids will be back, they said. 

[Yardstickgozinya]

I think I mentioned about all the carnage out in the Lisburn and Heritage Golf course areas as I drove through fields and trails in the woods just to get home. . I just drove out there to check things out and they haven't even opened the roads yet.There's crews out there, still trying to get the roads open .