April 30 (Reuters) - Nearly 450,000 customers in

Pennsylvania were without power early on Wednesday, data from

PowerOutage.us showed, a day after a storm system brought on

severe weather to the central United States.

Duquesne Light Company said late Tuesday it was working to

restore power to more than 240,000 customers who were

experiencing power outages in Allegheny and Beaver counties

after the storm.

High wind gusts nearing 80 miles (128.75 km) per hour

knocked down trees, broke utility poles and caused more than

20,000 separate reports of hazards so far, the utility said.

FirstEnergy ( FE ) also reported nearly 200,000 customers affected

across Pennsylvania, including areas such as Allegheny,

Armstrong, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland counties.