STAFF REPORT

STAFF REPORT

WARREN

Trumbull County was under a tornado warning late Friday night after watchers saw at least two tornadoes, one in Braceville Township north of Newton Falls and one in the Cortland area.

A dispatcher with Trumbull County 911 said storm damage was reported in various areas but none specifically resulting from a tornado, and there were no confirmed touchdowns.

Linda Beil, Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency director, said around midnight that she received no reports that a tornado touched down in Trumbull County.

“Just winds and lots of rain,” she said. Some storm watchers also reported hail.

Volatile weather passed through Trumbull County from west to east just north of Warren, causing a downed power line on Bazetta Road just south of Geauga Portage Easterly Road in northern Bazetta Township and at least one power outage in Mecca Township.

Robin Patton, spokesperson for Ohio Edison, said 2,700 customers were without power in Trumbull County, with 1,100 of them being in the Bristol Township area. No power outages were reported in Mahoning or Columbiana counties, she said.

There were also at least two house fires reported, both of them resulting from lightning strikes. One was on Bedford Road in Brookfield Township, and one was in Hermitage.

At the Relay For Life in downtown Warren, organizers evacuated the square when Trumbull County’s tornado warning was issued. Everyone was advised to retreat to the nearby First Presbyterian Church or Comfort Inn on North Park Avenue downtown for at least one hour, said Dr. Bob Brodell.

A severe thunderstorm warning remained in effect in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties until 3 a.m. today.

Erie County and eastern Ottawa County in north central Ohio were under a tornado warning until 8:45 p.m. Friday after a tornado was spotted six miles northeast of Huron and 11 miles east of Sandusky, moving east at 50 mph.

An Erie County sheriff’s dispatcher in Sandusky urged residents to seek shelter. She did not provide details on the extent of the storm damage, if any. An Ottawa County sheriff’s dispatcher said there was little damage in the county and no injury reports.

Around Toledo, the nearest big city, and throughout Lucas County, the storms had downed some power lines and trees.

The forecast for today calls for partly sunny skies in the morning with a wind advisory in effect from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., the National Weather Service said.

There is a 50-percent chance of showers with highs in the lower 50s and winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour and gusts up to 50 miles per hour.