Wet Snow Could Bring Down Power Lines
GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- The wet snow this weekend could be problematic for power lines.
West Penn Power officials say one of the worst outages they ever had was from a storm like the one heading to the area this weekend.
"This is sort of the linemen and the utility company's worst fear," Todd Myers with West Penn Power said.
The same pending snowstorm a month down the road would be less of a concern.
"Biggest concern is right here behind me – leaves on the trees," Myers said. "That snow is a lot more water-laden – it's not gonna be quite as fluffy. It's gonna be sticky and stick up there."
It will also be very heavy.
"And then what happens is branches begin to break and they come down into the power lines," Myers said.
That means power outages.
"When you have a storm like this, it can be a lot of individual cases of damage – almost like a hurricane," he explained.
For Allegheny Power, crews are being brought in from Ohio to stage in central Pennsylvania so they are in place by Saturday morning.
The power company is reminding people to avoid power lines if they are on the ground because you have no idea if they are live or not.
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