Hundreds still without power in Erie County. Are more strong winds, snow and cold on way?

Tim Hahn, Erie Times-News
·2 min read

A fraction of the Penelec customers who lost electric service in a storm packing strong winds that blew through the Erie region earlier this week remained without power on Friday but could remain in the dark until Saturday night.

As of 7:30 a.m. Friday, 601 Penelec customers in Erie County were still without power, including 222 in Millcreek Township and 147 in Erie, according to information on Penelec parent company FirstEnergy's website. Service was expected to be restored to some of those affected customers later in the day on Friday, while FirstEnergy estimated that others, including those in Erie and Millcreek, might not have their service restored until 11 p.m. Saturday.

At the height of the storm, which crossed through the Erie region beginning Tuesday morning, nearly 25,000 Penelec customers lost power as winds packing gusts up to 63 mph toppled trees, branches and power lines.

Erie County officials opened a number of warming shelters at locations across the county on Tuesday and Wednesday to assist those without electricity and heat. Three shelters were open on Thursday at the Fairfield Hose Co. in Harborcreek Township and at the Greenfield Township and Union City volunteer fire departments, county officials reported.

Strong winds that blew through Erie County earlier this week that toppled trees in branches throughout the region, including on Route 5 in Fairview Township, left several hundred Penelec customers still without power on Friday.
Strong winds that blew through Erie County earlier this week that toppled trees in branches throughout the region, including on Route 5 in Fairview Township, left several hundred Penelec customers still without power on Friday.

What's in store

More strong winds are expected to rake Erie County later Friday and through the weekend.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland on Friday morning issued a high wind warning for the county beginning at 4 p.m. Friday and continuing until 1 a.m. Sunday. Forecasters predicted south winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 65 mph expected, with the strongest winds expected near the lakeshore.

Weekend outlook: A cold, windy and snowy weekend is in the forecast

NWS Cleveland also issued a hazardous weather outlook for Erie and surrounding counties for the weekend, predicting accumulating lake-effect snowfall. The highest snowfall of 3 to 5 inches is expected in northeast Erie County, with 2 to 3 inches of snow expected elsewhere, forecasters reported.

Colder temperatures are also on hand, as forecasters said an Arctic air mass will arrive this weekend with an extended period of sub-zero wind chills Saturday night through Wednesday.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Hundreds still without power in Erie County as more bad weather coming