weather | The Lions' Den

Storm Season

by: Adison Poole

This year storms have seemed more and more common in the area. With constant rain and thunder rolling in, several areas have experienced power outages and damage to their property.

A storm develops in the sky.

Photo Courtesy: Logan Dunkerly

“We lost power from about 5:30 pm on Tuesday until about 4:30 pm Friday,” history Mrs. Beth Simone said. “We quickly realized the damage around our neighborhood was much more extensive than previous storms, so we would most likely not get power back quickly.”

Many experienced power outages throughout the area. Nearby school districts even experienced closures due to the outages.

“My daughter did not have school on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday,” Mrs. Simone said. “Her school building did not have power restored until Sunday, so they were able to go on Monday, but they did not have phones or internet at that point.”

Others who lost power struggled with the lack of air conditioning and keeping a refrigerator running without a generator.

“It was hot outside, so my house was definitely stuffy,” senior Grace Sybesma said. “I didn’t realize that our garage doors wouldn’t open, so we had to find a key for out front door.”

Some reported issues with power companies and lack of response on their end.

“It was annoying because we have West Penn Power and every time we would call them, there was never an estimated time of when it would be back on,” senior Gracie Susick said.

Others were lucky enough to have a generator on standby in case of emergencies.

“Luckily we already owned a generator, so we were able to use that to run the refrigerator, a few lights and our Wi-Fi,” Simone said. “The generator is loud, so we turned it off for much of the night, but we were still able to preserve our food and keep devices charged. My husband works from home, so Wi-Fi was essential.”

The storm also caused damage to several properties. Many experienced fallen trees and road closures due to the strong winds from the storms.

A tree covers Route 8-19 in the middle of a storm.

Photo by: Reese Price

“An approximately 80 foot pine tree collapsed in my back yard,” she said. “It did not hit the house, so there was no structural damage. We had the tree removed on Monday, just shy of two weeks after the storm.”

Many people kept busy while experiencing the power outages and pushing through in the dark until power could be restored.

“I had to study for my tests with a flashlight,” Susick said. “For online work I went to either other people’s houses or Barnes and Noble.”

Others went out and kept up with extracurricular activities to avoid being at home without power and to charge electronics.

“During the outage, I actually had dance during the evenings,” Sybesma said. “While at dance, I would charge my phone and do homework so I could complete it in the light. After dance, I would go to my grandparent’s house to shower so that I could have warm water.”

While the storm brought on hardships for many at GS, roads and properties have been cleared and storms have calmed down in the area since.

“Even though I didn’t have power for some time, I’m just glad that nothing serious happened to my house,” senior Josselyn Blawas said. “It was a relief to be safe inside my house.”

Hurricane Season

Posted on December 19, 2024 by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Adison Poole

This year’s hurricane season is bringing catastrophic damage to areas near not only the coasts, but also mountain areas that weren’t built to withstand harsh weather.

On Thursday, Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall for the first time in Florida. The storm continued its destructive path through Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and both of the Carolinas.

Helene was a category four hurricane with wind gusts up to 140 mph. The storm lasted from Tuesday, Sept. 24 to Sunday, Sept. 29.

“My grandma’s house was hit by the storm,” senior Nolan McDade said. “She had trees down all around her house and one even landed on it.”

The damage not only devastated areas along the water, but also several mountain regions. Mudslides throughout the area caused destruction to properties everywhere.

Mudslides like these were reported throughout the Carolinas and Tennessee.

In some cases, these mudslides were deadly and claimed the lives of people caught in them. One family in North Carolina lost 11 members to Helene.

“I heard about how bad the damage was,” McDade said. “My grandma didn’t experience anything like that, though.”

Almost directly following Helene, Hurricane Milton raised concern throughout Florida. Prior to the storm making landfall, several news stations spoke of the threat posed by the upcoming storm. The hurricane reached category level 6 before eventually making landfall as a category 3.

The storm struck the Florida coast near Tampa Bay on Oct. 9. The storm spanned throughout the night and pushed through Tampa straight across Florida all the way to Melbourne.

“My sister Heidi attends USF, which is the University of South Florida,” senior Greta Hagofsky said. “She lives in Tampa, just off of campus.”

A tree down on apartments after Hurricane Milton.

Photo Courtesy: Greta Hagofsky

Many in the area fled to seek safety from the storms. The hurricane caused local hotel prices to skyrocket.

“On the day of the hurricane, they decided that they were going to stay in Orlando in order to stay safe,” Hagofsky said. “They paid triple the normal cost of the hotel because of the hurricane.”

Milton was responsible for 41 tornadoes and counting throughout the affected areas. Once all the damage surveys are completed that number will be expected to rise.

“Once it was over, they went back to their apartment complex,” she explained. “They have multiple buildings there and it wasn’t Heidi’s that got hit, but a big tree fell on one of the other buildings.”

Not only did Milton bring strong winds and flash floods, but also devastating tornadoes and storm surges. The storm also left 2.6 million without power and claimed 12 lives.

“They didn’t have power for three days of being there,” she said. “That was only after being back, but it was the third day they finally got their power back.”

Cleanup from the hurricanes is ongoing.

“There was a bunch of debris everywhere,” Hagofsky said. “There was just a lot going on with all the flooding and trees down. Luckily their apartment was perfectly fine, so they ended up being all good.”