Significant damage reported in northern Ohio after severe thunderstorms roar through Great Lakes
CLEVELAND – Wednesday marked the third straight day of severe weather across the northern tier of the country as a cold front continued its march across the region.
Damage from hail, gusty winds and tornadoes was reported throughout the eastern Great Lakes, but the greatest concentration of impacts appeared to be in northern Ohio.
Communities across Ohio were placed under Tornado Warnings as the storms worked from west to east across the state.
Significant storm damage amid a tornado was reported by local authorities in the town of Bucyrus in northern Ohio.
Police advised residents to stay off the roads while crews attended to debris and downed power lines.
A resident told FOX Weather she was one of five people inside a Family Dollar store when the roof partially collapsed during a storm's strong winds.
Video taken after the cell moved through showed extensive damage to the store.
"Everyone is fine. Thank God! Terrifying though," said Leeuh Berry.
Strong winds also pushed a two-story house off its foundation, causing extensive damage.
Similar images of damage were taken around the town, and PowerOutage.us estimated that more than 20% of Crowford County was without electricity.
The National Weather Service office in Cleveland later determined a tornado rating EF-1 was part of the storm damage with estimated winds of 110 mph
is tasked with surveying damage from Wednesday's storm to determine the number of tornadoes that impacted the region and their strength on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Significant damage was also reported in Windham Township, which is about a two-hour drive from Bucyrus.
Portage County Emergency Management said a tornado touched down in the community Wednesday evening.
"We have multiple damages on multiple roads over a mile track," Portage County Emergency Management Director Ryan Shackelford told FOX Weather. "We're happy to report there was no injuries. A couple of scratches and bruises in the homes. But some structures did sustain pretty significant structural damage."
The tornado then pushed over the Ohio Turnpike, catching a few semi trucks in its wrath.
"Adding insult to injury, the tornado traversed over the Ohio Turnpike and actually caused two tractor trailers – one to get flipped on its side over the median and another one to jackknife," Shackelford said. "And, both those drivers were actually not injured in the incident, surprisingly."
The National Weather Service rated the tornado too as an EF-1 with estimated wind gusts of 110 mph.
Shackelford said while the 1985 F5 tornado that swept through Portage County remains the worst on record, this storm will be quite memorable.
"It's been the worst since I've been director. I've been here 10 years," he said. "(The 1985 F5 tornado) is by far the worst incident, probably in Northeast Ohio. But, this is the worst of my tenure."
At least 17 tornadoes were reported in the Midwest on Tuesday, seven of which have already been confirmed by National Weather Service storm surveys.
The strongest twister so far received an EF-2 rating south of Virgil, Kansas. Another tornado that struck south of Topeka, Kansas, injured at least two people when their RV was flipped over.
Original article source: Significant damage reported in northern Ohio after severe thunderstorms roar through Great Lakes
