Storms leave residents in the dark

Electric utility repair crews are due here today from Cleveland and Toledo.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Accompanied by wind gusts of 45 mph or more, a fast-moving line of thunderstorms blew into the Mahoning and Shenango valleys late Friday afternoon, toppling trees and power lines and causing flooding in some areas. Cleveland reported an 81-mph wind gust.
Some 67,550 customers in six counties in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania lost power during the storms and were still without power as of late Friday night, said Paul Harkey, Ohio Edison division manager.
Harkey was referring to Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Mercer and Lawrence counties and part of Butler County. Power probably won't be fully restored until late this weekend, he added.
Utility crews already had been out all day repairing damage from storms that hit the area early Friday and caused a power failure for 11,000 customers, he said. After all power had been restored to those customers, except for some in Columbiana County, the late-afternoon storms hit, he said.
"Our crews had worked 16 hours, and they were ready to go off shift when this storm hit," Harkey added.
Affected areas
In the afternoon storm, some 25,190 customers lost power in Mahoning County, with the western part of the county hardest hit. Customers in Canfield, the Lake Milton and Berlin Center areas, and parts of Boardman lost power.
Hardest-hit in Trumbull County was the Warren area, where 10,930 customers lost power.
Some 10,200 customers lost power in Mercer County, where Greenville and the borough of Mercer were hardest-hit.
Power lines on state Route 46 in Canfield were significantly damaged by high winds that toppled trees, Harkey said. Ohio Edison also suffered major damage to its equipment along U.S. Route 224, where crews were working to restore power in the Canfield area, he said.
OE crews were working through the night and were to be joined today by crews from Cleveland Electric Illuminating and crews from Toledo Edison. Crews from PennElect and Met-Ed in Pennsylvania also will likely come here today to assist in storm damage repair, he added.
The Youngstown City Water Department reported loss of power to the main pump station on the city's West Side, and water officials called Ohio Edison to report the problem. Water officials hoped to have power restored early today. Water officials weren't sure if lightning hit the pump station. The problem resulted in loss of water pressure in Austintown and on the city's West Side.
Tornado warning
At 5:04 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Trumbull County because a severe thunderstorm moving east at 40 mph and capable of producing a tornado was 2 miles northwest of Cortland. NWS saw a tornado on radar in that storm, but nobody on the ground saw a tornado and none touched down, a Trumbull County 911 supervisor said.
High winds ripped the roof off Southern Radiator at Southern and Midlothian boulevards in Youngstown. Not far away, a Cadillac Escalade in the driveway at 471 Ferndale Ave. in Youngstown was crushed by a fallen tree.
On Old Furnace Road, Mill Creek Park workers cut a tree limb into pieces after it fell, knocked out power lines and damaged a fence.
A fallen tree blocked Early Road in both directions near McCartney Road on Youngstown's East Side, and trees were down on North Lima Road in Poland.
Trapped in trailer
A tree fell on an occupied trailer home in Hillcrest Mobile Home Park in Girard, and power lines were down on Trumbull Avenue. A couple was trapped inside the trailer, but neighbors helped them to safety.
Flooding was reported along Hitchcock Road and U.S. Route 224 in Boardman and along state Route 208 in Lawrence County.
About 3/4 of the city of Campbell was still without power after 10 p.m., and the police and fire departments were operating on emergency power. All but one police department telephone line was out of service, and no outgoing calls could be made from the police department, a dispatcher said. Police were using their cellular phones to make outgoing calls.
Trees and power lines were down throughout Ohio, authorities said.
American Electric Power spokeswoman Terri Flora said about 45,000 customers in central Ohio were without power at the height of the storm, around 7:30 p.m.
Granville resident Kyle Morgan's husband was out shopping for batteries at 9:30 p.m. because their power was still out. She said the wind split a large tree in half, knocking out power lines near her house.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.