Dallastown, York County – A handful of people are still without power after strong storms blew through early this morning. The heavy rains and wind knocked out power to over 3,000 thousand people and left businesses scrambling to pick up the pieces.
The Dallastown carnival was supposed to open today but today is a no go. The high waters caused flooding in the park and washed away the road. The heavy storms this morning caused problems all across our area.
A normal tranquil creek in Spring Grove is turned into a roaring river after fast moving storms tear through the area.
“It’s been kind of crazy in here,” said Sunshine Sunoco cashier Mike Tarbert.
After three hours without electricity, the Sunshine Sunoco in York got back to business around 10 a.m. A lightning strike cooked the power grid, leaving them in the dark.
“It was a big blast and a flash of blue light and all I heard was the electric go “RRRR, RRRR,” Tarbert said.
Tarbert says a delivery driver was walking out the back door when the lightning hit. MetEd got to the area as quickly as possible but as crews worked, Tarbert watched his morning profits go down the drain.
“It’s been slow because of the rain this morning but we lost some business for sure this morning,” he said.
“Folks right here heard a real loud crash when the storms came through. It hit the tree or hit the car directly,” said Rick Musser with the Choo Choo Barn.
The profit margins at the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg got a little tighter this morning. A lightning strike started a fire inside of an old railcar storing Christmas decorations.
“It’s not something that sticks up in the air like a chimney or a tree but I guess, stuff happens,” Musser said.
The burned up decorations will cost the Choo Choo Barn between $10,000 and $12,000, but in the end, the show must go on.
“The Grinch came a little early this year. At least, maybe we will have some time to get some of this stuff replaced. We are going to have to because we already have some of the trains scheduled,” said Musser.
National Weather Service observers report some areas were hit with up to 3.5 inches of rain. As for the Dallastown Carnvial, the Boro hopes to get everything back to normal and the place opened up by 6 p.m.