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Clean-up begins after storms sweep through area
COMMENT: Report storm stories, damage near you
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
A tornado watch is still in effect in Butler County until 11 a.m., today, June 4 and until 4 p.m. for Warren County, as the area begins to clean up after strong storms last night.
The National Weather Service is predicting storms throughout the day, some of which could include high winds, hail and heavy rain. Today's high temperature is expected to be in the mid-80s, according to the NWS.
Extras
As of 8:30 a.m. today, the NWS radar showed a line of heavy rain and storms stretching all the way back to central Illinios.
Storms are expected to dwindle as the day moves on.
Duke Energy was reporting more than 2,400 customers are without power as of 8:30 a.m., most of whom are in West Chester Twp., according to the company's Web site.
West Chester Fire Department officials reported that no reports of major storm damage or severe flooding had been received early Wednesday, June 4.
"It's been very un-typical for the kind of weather we're having," said township communications director Denise Bruce. She said a few minor accidents were reported this morning, but those were the only calls possibly connected to the weather that had come in since the storm hit last night.
Power was affected in the southeast and north-central parts of the township, however. Duke Energy reported that more than 1,000 township residents were without power as of 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, June 4.
As of 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, June 4, 1,051 residents were without power in all of Butler County.
Fairfield Fire Chief Don Bennett said there was no reports of major storm damage or flooding. However, he said they are paying close attention to the Great Miami River with the heavy rain.
According to Duke Energy, there aren't any Fairfield area homes reported without power as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 4. Duke spokesman Tim Abbott said however, there was a lightning strike over night that caused a quick loss of power. He said it was a matter of about a second of lost power.
"I don't know where the lightening struck, but it impacted our system that went to Fairfield to Trenton to Hamilton," Abbott said.
Tuesday's storm activity
Last night, severe storms ripped through most of Butler County.
There has been no major damage reported in Warren County from the strong storms that pelted the area Tuesday night except for reports of downed tree limbs, authorities said Wednesday, June 4.
Tornado warning sirens sounded across the county throughout the night and funnel clouds were reported near South Lebanon; rotating walls of clouds were reported near Springboro, but no tornados were spotted on the ground, authorities said.
Two Waynesville women hit by lightning were rushed to the hospital Tuesday night, WKRC-TV Local 12 reported. They were struck around 8:30 p.m. in the 900 block of Windfield Way in Waynesville. The attic of a house there also caught fire.
It's not clear if the women were inside or outside of the house when the lighting struck, Local 12 reported. Their names and conditions are not available.
In Mason, a lightning strike in the Carmelle Woods subdivision was reported Wednesday morning and the Mason Fire Department responded.
High water was reported in Waynesville at Ohio 73 and Smith Road, and Turtle Creek is rising in the Lebanon area. The Little Miami River at Kings Mills is expected to overflow its banks later today, said Rick Murray with Warren County Emergency Services.
In Lebanon, emergency workers searched the creek behind the fire station on Silver Street Wednesday morning after a man reported he thought he heard a child calling for help. Police Sgt. Chuck Duerre said officers contacted all parents in the area and no one was reported missing.
Funnel clouds were reported in Oxford, north of Hamilton and in Liberty Twp. following the warning, which was issued shortly after 8 p.m. for Butler, Warren and Clinton counties.
The warning caused several hundred people attending the Hamilton High School graduation in Oxford to be holed up in Millett Hall until about 9:45 p.m., some 45 minutes after the ceremony ended. Police were manning the doors and trying to move people from the main floor of the building to the basement.
At 9 p.m., police in Oxford reported seeing hail falling and high winds. Residents there without a basement or a safe shelter were instructed to take cover at a shelter at Kramer School. Police reported trees were blown down near Millett Hall and on Indian Creek Road, southwest of Oxford. High water was an issue near the Preble County line.
At 9:15 p.m., a funnel cloud was reported to have touched down west of Oxford and was heading east, according to Butler County dispatchers.
Shortly after 9:30 p.m., funnel clouds were spotted in several areas around Butler County, officials said. A Butler County deputy reported seeing a funnel cloud near Beissinger Road.
At about 9:50 p.m., a funnel cloud was spotted over Countryside Village on Ohio 4 in Liberty Twp.
The tornado warning was downgraded to a tornado watch after 10:30 p.m., but there was other storm damage reported.
A girl was apparently struck by lightning on Hunt Avenue in Hamilton and was taken by ambulance to The Fort Hamilton Hospital for treatment of injuries, according to Doug Feltner. Feltner lives next door to where the lightning struck. He said the bolt split a large tree in half.
Lightening also caused problems across the county. Somerville and Seven Mile fire departments responded to electrical lines that were on fire from an apparent lightening strike. A woman was also injured after lightening struck her vehicle after a crash in St. Clair Twp., according to dispatchers.
Comments
By Dennis Gannon
June 16, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this
I LOST THE PLASTIC ON MY WINDOWS HERE IN SOUTH PARK LAST NIGHT. I’D SAY THE WIND WAS AT LEAST 45 MPH. THE DUPLEX MADE IT THROUGH ANOTHER STORM THOUGH. I JUST WATCH CHANNEL 7 AND 2, AND I DONT CARE ABOUT SKYHIGH WEATHER AND RICH UPYOURTHROUGH AND HIS SOCKPUPPETS
By jonbuoy186
June 16, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this
Please send the rain to Levy County, Florida my Alligators are Thirsty.LOL
By April Sadowski
June 16, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this
I am glad for Channel 7 being so “disruptive”! I live in Xenia (city limits) and when the sirens go off they are so faint you can’t hear them unless you are next to a window or outside. As I’m waiting for my weather radio to arrive in the mail, the news on TV (and specifically Channel 7 as they are more prompt with their meteorologists interrupting programming) is my only warning second to my dad who calls me up as he lives nearby. I lived through the 2000 tornado and there was NO warning.
By cincyeast
June 16, 2008 8:43 AM | Link to this
Joe, good analysis…. But I beg to differ that the TV weather folks “sometimes” hype the storms. They ALWAYS hype. They cackle with glee over a thunderstorm. They simply cannot wait to cite the possibilities of death and destruction. It is SO out of control. Thank you, WHIO, for completely wrecking the entire Tony Award show——for a typical seasonal thunderstorm.
Yep, these are the same folks who tell us to dress warm when it is cold outside.
What on earth would we do without them.
By Joe
June 16, 2008 8:19 AM | Link to this
I’m somewhat a realist. I think the severity of these storms is sometimes “hyped” by TV stations and treated like T-storms have never happenned here before. It is (late) spring. Thunderstorms are a very routine part of nature and life. Don’t get me wrong - Genuine nasty weather deserves our respect. Nothing wrong with being prepared and having a plan ready. But, not every thunderstorm that rolls through the area is a doomsday machine that has to be analyzed like a missile attack.
By sumSchmoe
June 16, 2008 8:04 AM | Link to this
Realist - trained in Meteorology, but they apparently not in typing or use the English language. The FIRST thought that went through my head (last night) when a large tree fell in my driveway was, “Gee..I hope “Realist” is ok. NOT.”
By Andrea
June 16, 2008 8:01 AM | Link to this
We lost power and the hardware store was out of generators. Luckily we searched and found one at mainpowerconnect.com; we should now have the power needed when the next unexpected outage comes. The generator will keep the lights on, food cold and our air conditioning working. Hopefully the generator will also keep our sump pump working to protect the basement from flooding.
By cincyeast
June 16, 2008 7:52 AM | Link to this
Put me in the Realist camp. The weather “DANGER” warnings are so out of control that it has become absurd. Weathermen are no longer Weathermen. They are now our Safety Monitors, and I’m sick of it. A storm rolled through town. It is summertime. It happens. Yet, TRYING to watch the annual live Tony Award show, every 5 minutes, the weather-safety-danger-alarmist, WHIO, warned us about the impending doom, with 4 minutes of reports. Tracking the storm foot by foot. Infuriating.
By dave
June 5, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this
Hey Realist, Did Mommy have any kids that lived?
By M. B. Barrentine
June 5, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this
Langdon Drive in Centerville was deeply flooded. A river was literally rushing down my backyard into the street. I have lived in the same house for over 21 years and I have never seen such high water, and hope to never see it again.
By realist
June 5, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this
DTP, quite a Shakespearean prose you offer in your vivid illumination of storm activities. Firstly, I am trained in meterology. Secondly, as you stated, and others, there were no further funnel gathterings. Thirdly, the most prevalent sign of immeninent danger is when the air chiils suddenly, when cold and warm air meet, which causes the vertex, and hail commences. That never transpited as it was humid and warm, not a sudden drop in temperature. Most weren’t happy to be awaken at 12am by sirens.
By Diane
June 4, 2008 8:33 PM | Link to this
Tonight (Wednesday)between 6:30p-6:45p there must have been quite a wind gust- a huge tree on Mitchell Ave. came down on a house and several other large limbs came down on several other trees around the same time. It was pretty scarey!
By Diane
June 4, 2008 8:26 PM | Link to this
I too was very thankful for the sirens. I work downtown Cincy and they had gone off due to the “tornado watch/severe thunderstorm warning” phenomena Tuesday afternoon. I had gone to bed and when they went off last night I thought it was the same thing. We watched the news report for a few minutes then headed to the basement. We listened to WMOH and when he said that a deputy had spotted the funnel cloud at Eaton Rd. hill (Beissinger), I was thankful we had heeded the warnings.
By TDP
June 4, 2008 6:10 PM | Link to this
To “realist” - it is better to remain quiet and look like a fool, then for you to open your mouth and further it beyond a doubt!
From your small perspective it would have appeared to be a hoax, but I observed the entire super cell rotating as I returned from Cincinnati. I knew from my training as a storm spotter that there would be funnel clouds and possible tornado touch downs.
I have not observed such lightning since the monsoons in Northeast Thailand during 1970/1971.
By barbara
June 4, 2008 5:56 PM | Link to this
well realist sounds like u graduated from the weather school. hell middletown didnt have to sound their sirens they could have just contacted u. since u was so confident that the storm had passed i would have given a million dollars to see the look on your smug face if a tornado had it around u. then see how smug u are and smart to i might add.
By Larry
June 4, 2008 5:27 PM | Link to this
I’ve chased severe storms now for 13 years both as a Skywarn Spotter and for my own enjoyment. The comments made by “Realist” are unfounded and make no real sense at all. What I experienced while chasing the storms for 4 hours last night was unlike any chasing experience I have ever had in Ohio. I did not see any funnel clouds, but I did see numerous areas of rotation with clouds literally touching the ground in some cases. Every community that sounded the alarms last night did the right thing.
By Tracey
June 4, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this
I am glad the sirens went off last night. As scary as it was, it was more important to be warned. Lately, we have seen on the news all of the states devasted by tornadoes. I am sure those people there would tell us that running the sirens is not a hoax.
By Mary Burnes
June 4, 2008 12:53 PM | Link to this
I was with my family at mullet hall when sirens went off, and police were rushing pepople to the autitorium, and then to the basement. This was a very scary time for most people. my comcern was for the children. A woman police officer was running through the front of the building yellingg touch down get to the basement. Once cleared we went back up and againg the sirens went off, and the police were urging people not to leave. I respect them for all they did last night. I want to thank them.
By Oxford
June 4, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
Realist is only a realist in his/her head. The siren system worked and people were being rightfully careful because a tornado could have formed at any given moment during that storm. Several were spotted right where I live but it could’ve just as easily been over your house in Middletown. You wouldn’t be such a realist if that had been the case and I would predict that you would be the first person to complain if the sirens did not sound and a tornado had been spotted.
By karen
June 4, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
To realist, How absurd!
By gail
June 4, 2008 11:48 AM | Link to this
I live by Children’s Medical Center and the tornado warning siren never went off!!!
By chris
June 4, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this
I wasn’t watching regular TV and my boy let me know that there was a tornado warning- I asked warning or watch, about the same time the sirens went off. I for one am glad. we went to the cellar with a radio and litsened to the wind and hail. We live southeast of Oxford right along the path the funnels took…
By Donna
June 4, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
I am also grateful for the sirens. I was watching the Reds game on Fox Sports Ohio and there was no indication that we were having weather issues. My mom (who lives in Dayton) called at 9 p.m. to see if we were okay. I turned to Channel 9 and saw we were under a TORNADO WARNING! As a child who grew up in Dayton, I well remember the 1974 Xenia tornado and how many of our friends were affected by that. I applaud them wholeheartedly for the sirens going off!
By Ed Meier
June 4, 2008 10:38 AM | Link to this
The truck park office complex across the street from the Clark County Fairgrounds was almost undriveable this morning. A large portion of the roads were completely covered in water. One driver in heavy water, apparently using the ‘No Outlet’ sign on Benjamin Dr. as a navigation reference thought the sign was on the left hand side of the road. No one could see the pavement under the opaque water. The sign was actually on the right hand side of the road. The van ended up in the ditch.
By Judy stull
June 4, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
send that RAIN down here to Tampa,Florida we need it bad
By JMI
June 4, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this
I was at Millet Hall last night and I am thankful for the tornado sirens. The way they handled the situation was very good, with that many people in attendance it did not seem like there was alot of “panic”. Any more I think people are “damned if they do, and damned if they don’t” If…they wouldn’t have sounded the sirens and something bad would have happened, people would be complaining, they sound the sirens and people complain. People need to look at the “flip side before they judge people.
By perl
June 4, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
between 9:30 and 10:00 pm a funnel tornado hit us. it ripped the barn roof like it peeled back con and rip two large trees as it headed toward hamilton across the proerty . we live on 177 . we went to the basement when we seen two coming. perl
By M
June 4, 2008 8:37 AM | Link to this
Nice to know we have sirens that work. Also, the only thing that was bad was Time Warner Cable’s constant interuptions of the sound on all channles, pre-empting the broadcasting audio. It is nice that they run the banner with the warning, but do I really need to get the weatherman’s input for 3 to 5 minutes too ? If I was that interested, I’d change to that channel.
By opmisk
June 4, 2008 8:21 AM | Link to this
realist, did you cherry pick some lines from a meteorology text; because your comment made zero sense. Always a good idea to know what you’re talking about before speaking to a crowd.
The T-storm cell actually moved fairly pronounced from the NW to SE. While tornadoes generally form on the backside of t-storm cell, their motion within that cell can be very unpredictable. Sounding the sirens was 100% the correct thing to do in this situation.
By Martha
June 4, 2008 8:11 AM | Link to this
I for one am thankfull for the sirens. My son was at the graduation in oxford and he was held up there in Mullet Hall. He reported to me when he did finally get a chance to come home that there was a bad accident were lightning struck a pole on 177 and the pole fell on a car. If my son had not of been at Mullet Hall it could of fell on there car. I was also able to get my daughter home from a friends house when i heard the sirens blow so she was safe. Realist you need to get real and be thankful
By Kimberly Snow Logsdon
June 4, 2008 8:06 AM | Link to this
I knew the sirens were there as I hear them tested every month - but was always concerned if they would REALLY alert us if there was impending danger. Last night my fears were put to rest. We were lucky, there was no major damage, but the conditions were certainly right for it. I felt very reassured to hear the sirens and know that the word was getting out to everyone in the community. Even if it was “practice” as we weren’t hit by a tornado, it was a great test of the system.
By Concerned
June 4, 2008 7:16 AM | Link to this
Thanks, Middletown. I, too, was glad to hear the sirens. Given the weather conditions, sounding the sirens was certainly not a case of crying wolf. Had the supercell moved in an easterly direction instead of shifting to the southeast, Middletown might have sustained a great deal of damage. We did have close to three inches of rain near the Great Miami.
By BRENDA
June 4, 2008 7:09 AM | Link to this
I FOR ONE WAS GLAD TO BE AWARE OF THE SIRENS. I WAS WATCHING A MOVIE AND WAS NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING BUT THE RAIN. I HAD ALOT OF PHONE CALLES TO THE KIDS TO GET THEM HOME AND FIND OTHERS WHO ARE MY EXTENDED FAMILY. I WONDER IF WE HAD A TORNADO IF WE WOULD BE SO CRITICAL. I FOR ONE GLAD TO HEAR THE SIRENS GOT EVERYONE HOME AND WAS THANKFUL FOR NOT ONE PERSON KILLED..
By realist
June 4, 2008 1:40 AM | Link to this
Hyperbole. Was shopping throughout storm, high humidity, no cool air mix, no hail, and I knew the storm had moved northeast which all tornado’s do, an hour earlier. But, Middletown will say they protected the community (not) by blowing those sirens non stop. What a hoax.