Trees were blown down by a high winds storm near the Butler County Community College campus in Cranberry Township on Sunday afternoon.

Mackenzie Loper was driving along Executive Drive in Cranberry Township on Sunday afternoon when it got dark.

Really dark.

She said she drove right into a rainstorm that made it almost impossible to see even a foot ahead of her vehicle, and lightning was striking all around her. Loper saw at least one tree fall, and other drivers seemed to be just as shocked as her.

“I thought people were throwing rocks at my car. The wind was whipping rocks at me,” Loper said. “You could not see even a foot in front of you. Other traffic was just darting around avoiding trees.”

The National Weather Service Pittsburgh issued several severe thunderstorm warnings for areas around Butler County around 4 p.m. Sunday, warning of winds up to 60 miles per hour and the possibility of penny-sized hail in different regions, including Cranberry Township. The warnings were effective until 5 p.m. at the latest, but some rain persisted past that time.

A meteorologist with the service said that there were high winds recorded in Cranberry Township, but they were not associated with any tornados, and were not fast enough to be classified as such.

At around 7:30 p.m., West Penn Power reported that more than 3,600 customers had lost power, mainly in Middlesex Township, where more than 2,600 customers were without electricity

Estimates for when power would be restored ranged from 8:30 to 11 p.m., according to the West Penn Power website.

Butler County dispatch received several calls reporting that trees were falling onto utility wires, and some were reported to be smoking as well.

Slippery Rock borough manager Shawn Pugh said a tree fell onto Poplar Forest Drive, which completely blocked the road. He also said the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company was taking care of some downed trees in Slippery Rock Township, and borough police would be making rounds to check on different areas of the borough.

John Pristas, assistant chief of Cranberry Township VFC, said crews had been called out to deal with trees down around the area.

Loper said her younger self would be proud, because she used to want to be a storm chaser as a kid. Loper made it to her destination safely as the storms calmed down, but said she will not soon forget this one.

“I have been through all the nation and seen storms, monsoons, tornados — I have not seen anything like what I saw in Cranberry,” Loper said.