Thunderstorms continue across NW Ohio

Storm footage taken west of Swanton, Ohio.

More rainy weather is hitting the area late Wednesday night into Thursday, causing potential for more flooding.

Dark skies boomed and flashed and dropped buckets of rain and golf-ball sized hail Wednesday, but the successive thunderstorms that moved across northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan caused little in the way of injuries or property damage.

As of 7 p.m., the National Weather Service in Cleveland estimated that Wednesday’s rainfall on the Toledo area was about 2 inches. Meteorologists there said they would not have a more specific total precipitation figure until Thursday.

A trained weather spotter in Napoleon, however, measured 2.4 inches of rainfall in the Henry County seat by 5:30 p.m. , and Findlay Airport reported 1.47 inches over a six-period ending at 8 p.m. At about 7:30 p.m., a Henry County sheriff’s dispatcher said that high water was closing roads at the Defiance County line west of Napoleon.

Flooded streets and roads were the norm, along with golf ball-sized hail in some locales, but authorities said the heavy weather was relatively easy on people and property.

A trucker on southbound I-75 south of Findlay escaped with minor injuries when his rig was knocked over by powerful winds at 4:45 p.m., shutting down the highway for an hour, according to the Bowling Green post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.

The storms knocked out power to some — Toledo Edison reported that about 800 customers were without power in Henry, Defiance, and Wood counties from 5:30 to 6 p.m. About 100 customers in southern Wood County were still without power at 11 p.m., but power is expected to be restored by midnight, according to Toledo Edison officials.

All of northwest Ohio was under a tornado watch until 10 p.m., with some areas under tornado or flash-flood warnings in poor drainage areas, including the city of Toledo. In Erie County, a sheriff’s deputy spotted a rotating cloud at about 6:30 p.m. west of Monroeville.

The sheets of rain that pummeled the region caused flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. The National Weather Service in Cleveland extended flood warnings in Lucas and Wood counties until 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

With several new thunderstorm lines moving across the region overnight, the NWS predicts more flooding in areas, with rainfall totals reaching as high as 4 to 5 inches in some areas. Another 1/2 inch of rainfall is expected Thursday morning.

In online alerts, NWS weather experts are asking people to slow down while driving, especially at night, when flooded roadways are harder to see.

The Weather Channel predicts between a 70 and 100 percent chance of rain in the Toledo area from 11 p.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday, before it tapers off to scattered storms.

Editor's Note: Information will be updated as it becomes available.

VIEW: NWS ADVISORY