Pennsylvania Daybook

$1M pro-Toomey election-year TV ad funded by secret donors

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on the effects of a strong storm that moved across Pennsylvania causing major power outages and damage (all times local): 12:30 p.m. A roofer says "it looked like a bomb exploded" inside the Amish schoolhouse that was leveled in storms that swept through eastern and central Pennsylvania overnight. Derek Cummings of in New Holland says he works for an Amish roofing company, and was working to rebuild the Lancaster county school Thursday morning. He says the scene was "like something you would see in Oklahoma, with the tornados they have there." He says the community is "very lucky" no one was hurt. He says they hope to have the 1,200-square-foot, one-story school rebuilt within a week. The National Weather Service plans to survey damage in Lancaster and Bradford counties to determine whether it was caused by tornadoes. ___ 8:15 a.m. Utility crews in central and eastern Pennsylvania have been working to restore power after strong storms downed trees, caused minor flooding and may have spawned two tornadoes. The National Weather Service plans to survey damage in Lancaster and Bradford counties to determine whether it was caused by tornadoes. The Bradford County damage was centered in Wyalusing. Lancaster County officials say up to 50 buildings have been damaged, including an Amish schoolhouse that was leveled. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths. PECO was reporting more than 10,000 customers without power in Philadelphia and four surrounding counties. Galen Huyard lives near one of the collapsed buildings in Lancaster County. He says his family got storm alerts on their cellphones and took cover in the basement during the storm. ___ 6:30 a.m. Utility crews in central and eastern Pennsylvania are working to restore electricity after strong storms moved across the state and possibly caused a tornado. There are 19,707 homes and businesses without power Thursday morning. PECO says most of its 10,154 outages are in Bucks County. PPL has 7,120 outages and First Energy says 2,433 customers are without service, mainly in York County. The National Weather Service plans to send a storm survey team to Lancaster County on Thursday to determine if a tornado touched down. Meteorologist John LaCorte says Wednesday night's storms caused buildings to collapse, tore roofs off homes and downed trees and power lines. There's at least one report of a barn that had collapsed with animals trapped inside. There's no immediate word on any injuries.

The Latest: 'Looked like bomb exploded' in leveled school