High Wind — Richland, Ohio

2008-09-14 · Richland, Ohio

Event narrative

High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike began late in the afternoon of September 14th and then continued through much of the evening. A peak gust of 66 mph was measured by an automated sensor at Mansfield Lahm Airport at 5:16 PM EDT. Damage in the county was extensive with thousands of trees and many utility poles downed. Widespread power outages occurred as well with as many as 15,000 utility customers without power at the peak of the storm. Some locations in southern Richland County were without power for as much as ten days. Home and building damage across the county was also extensive. The damage ranged from a few shingles torn off to significant structural damage caused by fallen trees landing on roofs. Windows were blown out of several homes and many awnings and gutters were torn off. Numerous vehicles were damaged by fallen trees and limbs and also by flying debris. This storm hampered travel as downed trees and power lines forced the closure of many roads. Substantial clean up costs were incurred by local governments. Richland County alone spent nearly $250,000 on clean up costs and emergency expenses. Many of the schools in the county were forced to close on Monday the 15th because of the power outages. Significant crop losses occurred as well. Corn and soy bean yields were reduced between 3 and 5 percent in many areas.

Wider weather episode

At daybreak on September 14th, the remnants of Hurricane Ike were centered over southeastern Missouri. This low moved rapidly northeast during the day reaching Northwest Ohio during the afternoon of the 14th. The low then moved up Lake Erie and over Lake Huron by the late evening hours. Damaging winds accompanied this storm system and caused widespread wind damage across northern Ohio. Damage and clean up cost from this event could exceed $300 million in northern Ohio alone. Reports of high winds and wind damage began during the mid afternoon hours of September 14th and tapered off late in the evening. The damage across the area was extensive with thousands of trees, power lines and utility poles downed. The time of year of this event contributed greatly to the amount of damage that occurred since the trees in the area were still foliated. Thousands of homes and buildings sustained varying degrees of damage from the high winds. Two deaths and several injuries occurred as a result of this storm.

As many as two million people in northern Ohio lost power as a result of this storm. Some residents were without power for as long as two weeks. Utility crews from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts were dispatched to the region to help the restoration efforts. Local electrical companies were forced to recall crews sent to Texas.

Travel during this event was difficult in some areas because of the large number of downed trees, power lines and utility poles. Power outages caused many traffic lights to be inoperable which further hampered travel. Hundreds of vehicles were damaged by fallen trees or limbs.

Crop losses from the high winds were also significant across portions of northern Ohio. Estimates suggest that corn yields were reduced by an average of three to five percent. Soybean losses were much more variable and ranged from little damage up to a ten percent loss in yield in some fields.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 135255. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.