WINDHAM VILLAGE, Ohio — Severe storms ripped through Northeast Ohio Wednesday evening, causing numerous watches and warnings to be issued for the area.
A confirmed EF1 tornado touched down in Windham, which is located in Portage County. The tornado caused damage to isolated homes and caused roadways to be closed.
Ralph Spidalieri, chief deputy with the Portage County Sheriff's Office, told News 5 that the high winds caused a significant number of downed power lines, electric service outages and roadside hazards.
“Being as dark as it it is right now and with very minimal traffic lights, the ones that are here aren’t working because there’s no power here," Spidalieri said. “We’ve closed off all the main routes that feed into this area, so what we’re trying to say is that if your a resident stay inside right now if you can, don’t get out and try to walk it because we do have a lot of wires down right now.”
The tornado touchdown caused eastbound lanes of the Ohio Turnpike near Bryant Road to be closed for several hours after two 18-wheelers toppled over due to the storms. Traffic flow has been restored, but some delays are still possible during the early morning hours of April 18.
Windham Police said there were no injuries in the crash or in any homes that they know of as Portage County Sheriff's Deputies went house-to-house checking to make sure everyone was alright.
Chris Strahler and his family, who live on Windham-Parkman road, said they witnessed a funnel cloud and barely had enough time to get into their basement as the storm moved in.
“I’m glad that the lady that lives in the house that got hit was not home at the time, it’s just kind of a God send that nobody got hurt," Strahler said. “It's mind blowing, after she said get down stairs I came out to see what see was talking about, looked out the window and I saw a little bit of the tornado off to the side.”
Crews with the Ravenna Fire Department helped to assist Windham's fire and police departments.
Ohio is leading the country in tornadoes in 2024.
RELATED: Ohio leads the nation in tornadoes in 2024
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