News
Update: Power Being Restored To Ohio Residents
By: Associated Press, Tom Hodson
Posted on:
UPDATE 1:40 p.m.: At the peak of the storm Sunday at about 9 p.m., American Electric Power (AEP) reported to have 33,500 customers across Ohio without power, but by 10 a.m. Monday all but 7,800 had power restored, according to an AEP statement.
“The hardest hit areas include Paulding and Lima in western Ohio and Canton in northeast Ohio,” AEP states. “The majority of customers still without power are in the company’s Paulding service area in western Ohio.”
AEP estimates that the majority of the customers still impacted by the storm will regain power by near midnight Tuesday. However, those in the Paulding area may not get power until 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
It is reported by AEP that, in Western Ohio alone, 45 poles were broken Sunday by nearly 70 mile per hour winds. AEP had 32 circuits affected. Now only seven circuits remain damaged. There were 20 distribution stations affected with all but five now being restored. In the Kalida/Continental area more than 20 structures were downed by the storm, according to AEP reports.
AEP also is replacing six broken distribution poles along U.S. Rt. 40 in the Hebron area of Licking County in central Ohio. This affects about 500 customers. AEP notes that the pole replacement should be finished by about 10 p.m. on Monday.
Power has been restored to the bulk of southeastern Ohio. There are still a few outages in Belmont County.
More than 30,000 customers in in Ohio were still without power early Monday after a strong storm system rolled through the state.
The Sunday evening storm brought strong winds that blew down trees and power lines and damaged some structures, including the rectory at a church in northwest Ohio and a barn in central Ohio. Some minor injuries were reported.
The storm ripped through several states in the Midwest Sunday, spawning tornadoes and tearing through homes and overturning cars along its path. At least six people were killed in Illinois.
Some reports of funnel clouds in Ohio have not yet been confirmed. A statewide tornado watch was canceled after the serious storms moved out of Ohio by 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.