High winds cause outages

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Wind advisories in much of the area through Sunday night followed dangerous gusts of more than 50 mph over the weekend that uprooted trees and caused power outages.

In Mahoning and Columbiana counties, 8,000 customers were without power Sunday. Just 1,700 customers remained without electricity at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Area Ohio Edison Manager David Turner expected those residents to regain power by 9:30 p.m. depending on the weather.

In Trumbull County, 200 customers were still without power at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Robin Patton, area manager for the county, said downed trees and damaged power lines caused 3,800 outages scattered throughout the county this weekend.

To report an outage, Ohio Edison customers can call 888-544-4877.

In Lordstown, major winds carried a trampoline into the side of a house and ripped some siding off. Police filed a report there documenting the damage.

Girard police dealt with a few branches and wires down, but no major trees.

Boardman, Austintown and Canfield police also saw issues with power outages.

Strong winds were expected to taper off Sunday night, but winds reaching 40 to 50 mph were anticipated in the Youngstown area. Winds were most powerful along the shore of Lake Erie, according to the National Weather Service. The area’s wind advisory ended at 8 p.m.

Cooler conditions will accompany showers and thunderstorms expected through Wednesday in the Mahoning Valley, but wind gusts won’t be as strong, the NWS forecasts.