Aug. 10--The Northumberland County Department of Public Safety is setting up three water distribution stations to help those who do not have electrical service following the severe thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon.

The sites are at the lobby of the Milton Area High School, 700 Mahoning St., MIlton; Turbotville Fire Department, Broadway Street in Turbtovtille and the Northumberland County 911 Center at 911 Greenough Street, Sunbury.

Officials said they wanted to make the water available because of warm weather conditions today and the lack of electricity in some portions of the county.

Thunderstorms rolled through the Susquehanna Valley on Sunday, knocking out power to 9,000 homes in Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties and bringing trees down across power lines and roads.

According to PPL statistics, Northumberland County had the most customers out in the state, 7,047, because of the 4:30 p.m. storm. In Snyder County, 920 PPL customers were affected; in Union County, 380; and in Montour County, 55. Another 600 Citizens' Electric Co. customers in the Lewisburg area were without power.

Statewide, 25,362 PPL customers were affected by the storms.

As of 1:45 p.m. today, 1,367 customers were still without electrical service. PPL reported that 814 homes and businesses in Northumberland County were without power this afternoon, followed by 502 in Union County, 51 in Snyder County and 2 in Montour County.

Lines fall on cars

As the dark clouds and rain started to move in, residents of a home along Route 11 heading into Northumberland jumped out of their chairs when a tree fell onto a power line. After a couple of minutes of the tree leaning on the transformer, the three powers lines melted and the transformer fell due to the weight of the tree.

Railyn Mest and her husband were inside their home when they heard the crash.

"We were inside watching television when we heard a loud noise," Mest said. "I though somebody had hit my car. In the process of getting up, I could see a lot of flashing."

The flashing was the result of the transformer falling and the power lines landing on the Mests' vehicles, which were parked outside their home.

"When I moved the curtain to look out the door, I noticed the power lines laying on our cars," she said. "The power transformer was arcing and flashing with a lot of sparks and smoke coming out of it."

The fallen transformer knocked out power to the neighborhood and closed the southbound lane of Route 11.

"The line was on the ground the entire time," Mest said. "The transformers here and down the street just continued to arc and spark.