Originally published January 8, 2019 at 10:36 a.m., updated January 8, 2019 at 2:38 p.m.
CORTLAND
The National Weather Service in Cleveland confirmed there was a EF1 tornado that touched down at 10:25 a.m. today in Champion Township.
The tornado moved east across Mosquito Creek into western parts of Cortland, knocking down numerous trees and power lines, said Mike Griffin, the services’ lead meteorologist. The tornado caused significant damage to buildings and property damage to homes in the area, he said.
The tornado was on the ground for 4 1/2 miles with winds up to 100 mph and a path width of 75 yards, Griffin said.
There were no injuries reported in the tornado, he said.
Earlier, Bazetta Township fire Chief Dennis Lewis he was confident that a tornado was to blame for the damage that hit on either side of Mosquito Lake around 10:26 a.m. today.
Lewis said the worst damage appears to be on the east side of the lake but the straight-line winds and tornado also cut off access to the lake shore and West Lake Drive area just west of the lake.
He said power is out to the Westlake area and trees are down.
Two Bazetta Township residents reported damage around 10:40 a.m. today, one of them saying the downed trees and power lines appeared to of been the result of the tornado.
One of the locations was on Everett Hall Road near Bazetta Road, the other was on North Park Ave. near Airport Road.
Further, video of a funnel cloud touching down has surfaced on the Everything Cortland Facebook page, near Mosquito Lake, Sunburst Environmental and the former Delphi plant.
Tornado sirens were heard in Cortland, with reports of funnel cloud sightings, as a stormy weather pattern crosses the community.
People on social media also say sirens were heard in Girard and Hubbard.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland is monitoring the situation in Trumbull County via radar following unconfirmed reports of funnel cloud formations in the Cortland area.
Meteorologist Patrick Saunders said the Trumbull 911 center has received "numerous" reports of funnel clouds.
"This is unconfirmed, but we've had reports of trees and wires down just west of Cortland," he said.
A funnel cloud is a "rotation near the base of the thunderstorm that can be visibly seen," Saunders said. "Usually that's the beginning of the formation of a tornado, but we have not confirmed the occurrence of a tornado right now."