Storms batter Van Wert County

7/23/2004

A band of thunderstorms dropped a quick one to three inches of rain on Van Wert County and felled trees and power lines throughout the region yesterday evening, but there were no reports of serious injuries or extensive damage.

The National Weather Service said its Doppler radar indicated the Van Wert County rainfall, prompting a flash-flood warning.

Several streets in the city of Van Wert were closed, with reports of standing water up to three feet deep and a truck stranded by high water. The Ohio Highway Patrol's Van Wert post reported at 9 p.m. that two inches had fallen, but had no damage reports.

In Defiance, police reported five downed trees, including one that struck a house. No one was hurt.

Toledo Edison reported scattered power outages throughout its service area, affecting 200 customers as of 9:15 p.m.

The thunderstorms were moving ahead of a weather front expected to bring cooler, drier weather to northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan today after three humid days of near 90-degree heat.