Thousands still without power in central, eastern Ohio from winter storm

COLUMBUS (AP) — Thousands have no power in central and eastern Ohio on a chilly morning after a major wind storm.

American Electric Power reported that about 9,000 of its Ohio customers were without service early today, with nearly half of those outages in eastern Ohio’s Jefferson County. The county’s emergency management agency has opened four emergency shelters for people without power or heat at home.

Other Ohio electric companies showed mostly minor service disruptions.

AEP says at the height of Wednesday’s storm, it had nearly 35,000 customers out because of damage to its lines and power poles from wind gusts of up to 61 mph.

A cold front that whipped up winds across Ohio left behind below-freezing temperatures and single-digit or negative wind chills.