Tree limb crashes through roof of Pottsville home as storm sweeps through area

POTTSVILLE — Four adults and a dog escaped injury when a 30- to 40-foot tree limb crashed through the roof of their home along Timber Road in the Forest Hills section of the city during a strong thunderstorm Thursday morning.

Authorities are investigating if the storm spawned a tornado.

The limb blocked access to the front door, where a ramp is used by one of the occupants who uses a wheelchair, for about 20 minutes until it was removed.

Trees down in Pottsville

A large tree is removed from a home in Pottsville after storms passed through the area early in the morning on Thursday, May 23, 2024.

Richard and Beth Bauder lived at the home with Beth’s parents, Margaret and William Fish, according to information provided by the Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter of the American Red Cross.

No one was hurt, Richard Bauder said Thursday evening.

Pottsville Fire Chief James E. Misstishin Sr. said that John Blickley, county emergency management director, was in the area, on the south side of the city, near Mount Carbon, to take photos and gather information to send to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service.

“It’s either straight line winds or a tornado touched down,” said Misstishin, noting that one eyewitness told him he saw a funnel cloud.

The National Weather Service at State College had issued a special weather statement at 7:09 a.m. saying that a strong thunderstorm would affect the area through 8:15 a.m. with wind gusts of 50 mph possible along with hail of half-inch diameter.

The tree, estimated by Ken Fisher, owner of Fisher Tree Service, Pottsville, to be 40 inches in circumference and 60 to 70 feet tall, was on property at 26 Timber Road and crashed into a garage next door at 18 Timber Road.

“The whole garage is a total loss,” Fisher said while on the scene Thursday.

The limb that punctured a hole in the roof of the house came from the same property at 18 Timber Road.

An insurance company representative will need to inspect the home, Misstishin said. He agreed that the garage is a total loss, but believes the house will be repairable.

A third home, at 10 Timber Road, was damaged when shingles blew off and a tree hit the garage, Harold Shuman, said of his mother-in-law’s home. She was not hurt.

“It was pretty nasty,” he said of the storm.

Shuman was in his basement at 136 Forest Road between 7:30 and 8 a.m. when he heard what sounded like a freight train for about 20 seconds. He looked outside and noticed trees and branches strewn about.

A contractor doing work in the area drove by and told him the damage was worse nearby along Timber Road, mentioning the trees that damaged the house and garage.

The damage extended beyond the Forest Hills section.

“We had wires down, trees down all over the place,” Misstishin said.

The first call for storm related damage in the city came at 7:49 a.m. for wires down on Howard Avenue, he said. The Timber Road call came after that, as did one for 101 Crestview Drive, not far from Timber Road, Misstishin said.

No injuries were reported during the storm, he said.

PennDOT workers responded to the Mount Carbon Arch, where South Centre Street cuts under a railroad bed just off Route 61.

An area prone to flooding, the underpass was shut down for about 90 minutes because of high water.

As of 6:15 p.m. Thursday, 350 customers were without power in the county, according to the PPL website.