Mother Nature copped an attitude.

Gusty winds overnight knocked down power lines and trees across Butler County. Snow and cold temperatures caused slick and at times hazardous roads for motorists

For one motorist in Butler, it became a matter of life or death.

The man, whose identity was not immediately available, was traveling down North Main Street hill about 4 a.m. when a huge tree uprooted. The tree came crashing down on top of his pickup truck near the Towers Apartments.

Luckily, the man was able to get out of the truck in time and he was not injured.

Unluckily, his pickup was not spared.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said one West Penn Power worker called to the scene.

The tree also fell onto power lines and snapped at least one utility pole, sending lives wires down to the ground.

Butler police immediately raced to the emergency and closed the road top to bottom — from the GetGo store to West Penn Street.

Utility crews also rushed to the scene to cut off power.

The man’s wife eventually arrived to pick him up, police said. A wrecker also arrived some time later to haul away his severely damaged, if not totaled truck.

“There are wires and trees are down everywhere,” a Butler County Communications dispatcher said about 6:30 a.m. today.

Moments later, a pair of unrelated crashes were called in — both on the 600 block of Bonniebrook Road in Summit Township.

One of those accidents reportedly involved two cars and a school bus.

“There were no children on the bus,” the dispatcher said.

The other accident call on Bonniebrook Road was for a vehicle that overturned and landed on its wheels. One person was apparently injured in that wreck.

Wind gusts topped 40 mph Thursday night into this morning as measured at the Butler County Airport in Penn Township, said John Darnley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

There was a trace to an inch or so of snow, he said. But north of Butler County, three inches of snow was reported.

A number of roads throughout the night and this morning were closed because of fallen wires and trees.

In Penn Township, Renfrew Road west of Three Degree Road was closed just after 6 a.m. due to downed power lines.

A portion of Dick Road in Connoquenessing Township was also closed about 4:40 a.m. due to downed trees and wires, according to PennDOT officials.

Felled wires on the 500 block of Sandy Hill Road also caused Middlesex Township police to lose that road shortly after 3:30 a.m.

The forecast for the rest of the morning is for breezy winds, about 20 mph with gusts to 34 mph, Darnley said.

Light snow was possible with accumulation of one half to one inch. Isolated showers could develop by noon.