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Teams surveying damage in Ottawa, Sandusky, Ashland counties from storms, tornadoes

Trees felled, roads closed, lightning strikes over Cleveland

Multiple trees were felled, roads are blocked and power is still out for thousands of residents Friday morning, mainly in the counties south and west of Cleveland, after severe storms rolled through.

By: Ian Cross

Posted at 6:42 AM, Jun 16, 2023

and last updated 2023-06-17 16:04:53-04

PERU, Ohio — Multiple trees were felled, roads are blocked and power is still out for thousands of residents Friday morning, mainly in the counties south and west of Cleveland, after severe storms rolled northern Ohio Thursday night.

Here's a review of the severe weather from News 5 meteorologist Phil Sakal:

@news5cleveland
Trees down, power out, roads closed after severe storms rolled through northern Ohio last night. Damage centered in Huron, Ottawa counties, where NWS teams will survey the damage of a possible tornado. More on the News 5 app.
♬ original sound - news5cleveland

Tornado touches down

ASHLAND COUNTY

The National Weather Service confirmed Friday afternoon that an EF-0 tornado touched down in Nankin Township in Ashland County.

The tornado hit around 8:47 p.m. Thursday, reaching speeds up to 85 mph. Its impact area was 300 yards wide by 1.2 miles long. No one was injured in the event.

[2:20 PM] NWS Cleveland preliminary storm damage survey summary from Nankin (Ashland Co.) EF-0 tornado. More info: https://t.co/jHNCybGU7q #ohwx pic.twitter.com/mma5GJpMaL
— NWS Cleveland (@NWSCLE) June 16, 2023

HURON COUNTY

The Huron County Emergency Management Agency also provided a video and an image of a possible tornado in their area.

@news5cleveland
🌪️ Here's video and images of a possible tornado in Huron County from the county's EMA. Download the News 5 app for the latest, and tune in tonight for coverage of the storm aftermath.
♬ original sound - news5cleveland

According to Huron County EMA, storms wreaked havoc on North Fairfield Thursday evening. The damage to the small community of around 500 residents was extensive.

"I took trucks, and we go out, and I do spotters and see if anything is coming. Well then, pardon my French, but all hell broke loose," North Fairfield Fire Chief Edward Eden said.

Trees were damaged, with many down on homes in the area. Residents lost power, and in some cases, those wires went down on cars and homes.

It appears North Fairfield was ground zero for storm damage in the county, Huron County EMA said.

Cleanup is now underway and is expected to continue for quite a while.

"The cleanup is not going to be fast, I can tell you that. But it's like everything else; we'll survive," Eden said.

For North Fairfield resident Roger Osborn, that cleanup will take much longer. His house, built in 1848, had several trees fall on it during the storms. Three of those trees are now partially inside the home.

Osborn and his wife rushed to the basement when they heard the noise of the storm approaching.

"(For) 10 seconds, it roared like a freight train, and then it was done. It was over within 10 to 12 seconds. The show was over," Osborn said.

For all the damage left behind by the storm, Osborn said he is grateful he only has roof damage. His home is extremely meaningful because about 30 years ago, he discovered tunnels in his basement that local historians said were part of the underground railroad.

"Supposedly, a couple of U.S. Presidents that were from Ohio have been in my neighbor's house and this house," he said.

Art Mead, the director of Huron County EMA, said that despite Mother Nature's wrath, residents are counting their blessings that no one was seriously hurt. The tight-knit community is working together to recover from last night's terrifying ordeal.

"If it gets to a point where we need extra help, I will reach out to the state, but as of right now, I'm not the only county that was affected by this, as you're aware of," so we'll kind of do our thing and figure this out," Mead said.

LUCAS COUNTY

The National Weather Service confirmed late Friday afternoon that an EF-2 tornado touched down North of Toledo and tracked east into Point Place in Lucas County. Estimated peak wind gusts were 130 mph and it was on the ground for about four minutes.

[3:55 PM] Preliminary NWS storm survey confirmed an EF-2 tornado touched down north of Toledo, OH and tracked east into Point Place, OH. It was on the ground for about 4 minutes with estimated maximum peak wind gusts of 130 mph. Additional survey information to follow. #ohwx pic.twitter.com/QtIuZfQ0OM
— NWS Cleveland (@NWSCLE) June 16, 2023

"The (National) Weather Service will come tomorrow and survey the damage, but I'm 99% confident it's a tornado," said Fred Petersen, director of the Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency, to the Akron Beacon Journal. "There are trees lying in different directions, and by the nature of the damage," it appears that it was caused by a tornado.

Photos sent to News 5 show damage likely caused by a tornado, like this leveled farm structure near Point Place in Ottawa County.

Power outages

Thousands were without power Thursday evening and Friday morning. Currently, according to FirstEnergy, the following counties are still affected by outages as of 3: p.m.:

Erie - 263
Huron - 911
Lucas - 6,065
Ottawa - 350
Sandusky - 1,992

Road closures

Many roads were closed throughout Northern Ohio but have since reopened.

Lightning show

The storm caused the most damage in central-north counties like Huron, Erie and Ottawa and Sandusky.

As it rolled through Northeastern Ohio Thursday night, lightning strikes provided some dramatic images of Cleveland, like this one captured by News 5's Alex Farmer.