Storms damage trees, power lines
4/21/2003Emergency personnel throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan responded to traffic accidents and downed trees and utility lines for several hours yesterday as thunderstorms unleashed high winds and rain on the region.
A spokesman for the Seneca County sheriff's office said there was an unconfirmed report of a tornado on State Rt. 635 between Bascom and Bettsville at 6:02 p.m. The National Weather Service had not surveyed the area where the tornado was reported.
Seneca County remained under a tornado warning until 6:45 p.m. yesterday.
Defiance, Hancock, Erie, Fulton, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, and Wyandot counties were all under thunderstorm warnings until 10 last night.
Marc Spilde, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, Inc., said wind gusts reached 40 mph at Toledo Express Airport and Metcalf Field between 4 and 7:30 p.m. “The storm passed through, and winds died down to about 10 mph,” Mr. Spilde said. “Essentially, what happened was the thunderstorms reached so high in the atmosphere, they were able to tap into higher winds.”
Wind caused minor to moderate damage in Allen County where a construction site trailer was blown onto the road on Harding Highway in Perry Township, a dispatcher said.
Toledo firefighters responded to several reports of downed wires after wind gusts brought down trees, limbs, and utility lines.
About 700 homes scattered throughout Toledo were without electricity last night because of lightning, said Gary Mortus, Toledo Edison area manager.
Today's high is expected to be in the low 60s with some showers in the afternoon or evening. Tomorrow will be chilly with a high of about 50, Mr. Spilde said.