Area agencies assess storm damage

TULSA WORLD

Branches from a tree rest on power lines along Louisiana Avenue in Perrysburg.

In the aftermath of a swath of strong thunderstorms in northwest Ohio, area law enforcement agencies are assessing damage, such as to homes, garages, offices, and mobile homes.

Lucas, Wood, Sandusky, Hancock, Erie, and Huron are among the counties under the advisory and watch. West winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 to 60 mph are possible.Hazardous weather could continue across northwest Ohio, according to the National Weather Service with a wind advisory in effect until 7 a.m. Monday and a tornado watch in effect until midnight today.

Severe thunderstorms will be issued if conditions warrant. There is a possibility of storms with rotation that could trigger tornado warnings as well.

The stronger winds will arrive with and behind a cold front that will reach northwest Ohio between now and 8 p.m. Some law enforcement agencies are reporting increasing wind speeds as authorities are out in the areas assessing damage from earlier storms.

Among the hardest hit areas was a business park along State Rt. 795 near Oregon Road in Perrysburg Township, where a gas leak was reported about 7:30 p.m., causing the area to be evacuated.

Seven buildings on Cedar Park Boulevard and Ponderosa Road received structural damage, causing Columbia Gas of Ohio to shut off service, said Chris Kozak, a spokesman for the utility.

13abc.com Toledo weather

Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer said apartment buildings in Owens Lake Commons and homes, especially near Tracy Road, were damaged in the storm.

"I have not heard of any reports of any injuries at this point. I think they have got their hands full. But, we are getting it under control," Chief Hummer said.

Some branches and power lines could be downed during the approaching storms, according to the National Weather Service.

Roofs and siding were blown off of some homes, many trees and limbs have been knocked down, including some onto roadways, and a church was damaged in Cloverdale where there was significant damage to homes in the area of that Putnam County village. There was no confirmation of a tornado.

The damage in Cloverdale included the roof on the rectory of St. Barbara's Catholic Church. Homes were damaged as well, including mobile homes that were toppled, and power lines were blown down, said Steve Odenweller, public service coordinator for Putnam County.

"There is significant damage but we do not have reports of anybody injured," he said.

An emergency shelter has been set up in Oak Haven Residential Care Center in Cloverdale and the Red Cross is there to offer assistance.

There are numerous reports of power outages in the area. More than 8,000 customers in the AEP coverage area are without power, including 1,410 users in Putnam County.

Sally Oberski, spokesman for the Diocese of Toledo, said St. Barbara's Church may have been damaged slightly, but the rectory received extensive damage.

The Blade Weather Page

She said there was no one living in the rectory, which had been recently used to house an elderly priest.

In many villages and cities, including Toledo, motorists were being detoured around roadways blocked with downed trees or limbs. There were reports of garage doors blown in onto vehicles.

Crews were checking mobile home communities for damage, and there was a report of heavy damage in Friendly Village in Perryburg Township.

ODOT has close State Rt. 199 in Perrysburg Township between Five Point Road and Roachton Road because of down power lines. Perrysburg police is reporting that many home in the city are without electricity.

Hollywood Casino Toledo was in the dark following the storm, and at one local theater, theater goers were evacuated into a long, narrow hallway until the storm passed.

Julie Sanderson, a spokesman for Westfield Franklin Park, said a power line was down in the mall's parking lot. Although the wire triggered the fire alarm, there was no fire at Westfield, she said.

A security team, along with fire officials, is stationed near the downed wire. Other than that, the mall did not sustain any damage during the storm.

There were no problems, one theater goer reported, with people behaving orderly. Movie goers at Westfield Franklin Park were given raincheck passes.

Multiple vehicular crashes have occurred on northbound I-75 in Rossford near Buck Road.

The following routes are restricted or closed due to damage from the recent storm:

WOOD COUNTY: Effective immediately, until further notice, northbound I-75 between SR 582 and I-475 will be reduced to one lane for sign repair. SR 199, between Five Point Road and Roachton Road, is closed due to downed power line, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, District 2 office in Bowling Green.