OLYPHANT - Roaring winds ripped the rubber roof off a meat packing building in Olyphant during Wednesday evening's storm, sending rain pouring into the building, which was holding about $2 million worth of veal.
Borough fire Chief Dave Tully said an electrical engineer was called in to check to be sure no damage was done to the electrical system in Atlantic Veal & Lamb Inc.'s building on Hull Avenue.
"The neighbor said it just came up like a black cloud and was sparking," Chief Tully said.
The damage to Atlantic Veal & Lamb was one of just at least eight weather-related emergencies called in during a severe thunderstorm that tore through Northeast Pennsylvania just after 5 p.m.
Less than a mile away from the meat packing plant, utility workers, firefighters and cleanup crews chopped up a pine tree that was uprooted and blocking the road near Sanderson Avenue and Scott Street.
Throop police had a section of the O'Neill Highway blocked to traffic near the entrance to Interstate 81 South after a utility pole snapped at its base and was leaning on other power lines.
The damage wasn't just contained to the Midvalley.
Lackawanna County 911 dispatchers fielded numerous calls for live wires down in roads and yards and trees blocking roads, all caused by winds reaching up to 50 mph.
There were also reports of hail 1-inch in diameter at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and places in Pike County, AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Edwards said.
The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming, Lackawanna, Pike and Luzerne counties Wednesday. The rain is expected to continue through Friday, becoming heavier, with 1 to 2 inches possible, and may cause flooding throughout the area, according to the NWS.
Contact the writer: ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT on Twitter