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Tamaqua hit hard by storms causing power outages

Tamaqua got hit hard by Monday night's storms causing damage, power outages, and school delays.

TAMAQUA, Pa. — Schuylkill County got hit hard by Monday night's storms. 

Viewer photos from the Tamaqua area show damage.

Thousands are without power Tuesday morning, and some streets had to be closed overnight.

"Scared to death. I never heard wind like that. And then we noticed this in the wee hours of the morning. We came out with a flashlight to look around, and I noticed the truck first. I said, 'Oh, my God, Dave, look at your truck.'"

It was cleanup day for many in Rush Township after storms tore through the area, bringing down trees and cutting power for thousands.

Skycam 16 gives us a bird's eye view of the damage.

On Fairview Lane, downed trees lined the property of a home.

"We've experienced severe thunderstorms that knocked our power out. I've never heard wind like that in my life, and I've never seen this amount of destruction," said Mary Annschmerfeld.

Annschmerfeld was home with her husband Monday night when the storm came through the area.

"I said I think we better go in the basement; something's happening. He looked out. He said he saw golf-ball-sized hail, and I thought, 'Oh, boy,' and that quickly, it was over."

But damage on her property remains, including a tree on her husband's truck.

Just down the street and around the corner, we found a downed tree with wires blocking a lane.

Resident Bill Frye took a ride on his ATV to survey the damage himself.

"A lot of tree damage, a lot of wire damage, a lot of roads shut down in the area; you can barely get in and out. Yeah, it's bad."

Damage varies from 8-foot branches to 70-foot trees. It's a result of heavy rains over this summer and strong winds from Monday night's storm.

"My daughter lives in Fleetwood, and we just talked about this. She said, 'Mom, what's going on with these storms?'" Annschmerfeld said. "We were spared a lot of the time, and now we weren't spared this one."

There are multiple crews surveying the damage and cleaning up roadways. They tell us much of the damage is concentrated in this area.

A high school football game at Tamaqua had to be called at halftime because of the storm.

Some schools delayed the start of classes on Tuesday after the storms.

To check the latest power outages, click here.

Head here for the Stormtracker 16 Forecast.

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