Severe weather rips through county

FINDLAY — About 7:13 p.m. Wednesday, the Hancock County Sheriff's Office issued a tornado warning for Hancock County. As of 3 p.m. Thursday no tornado touchdowns have been reported, but straight-line winds of up to 68 mph caused some damage in the Findlay area and beyond and left many without power. According to a release from the Findlay Police Department, "There was widespread damage throughout the City of Findlay from downed limbs, few trees that had fallen and power lines on the ground." The release also says there were two reports of damage to city property at approximately 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. An overhang structure located at 224 W. Crawford St. came down on top of five city vehicles. "Four of the vehicles sustained damage and two were moderate to heavily damage," the release states. A light post was also reported as having been toppled. Neither incident caused injuries. According to AEP's outage map, 176 residences were still without power in Findlay as of 4 p.m. Thursday. About the storm Meteorologist Jim Sullivan of the National Weather Service in Cleveland said the storm was a result of a cold front coming in from the west that caused "a long-lived line of storms that impacted the Findlay area." The storm also caused damage in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and other parts of Ohio. Sullivan later reported survey teams were currently assessing damage in Ottawa and Huron counties that may have been the result of tornadic winds, but there have been no confirmed touchdowns yet. When asked why the warning was issued, Sullivan said a trained weather spotter near Mt. Cory saw rotating clouds that seemed to be descending. "There are a couple spots we're looking at (in the northeast corner of the state) that may have been brief or short-lived tornados, but as of right now, we haven't officially confirmed anything," Sullivan said. "Just a lot of straight-line winds." While this type of weather can be extreme, Sullivan reminds it is not unusual for this time of year. "This is a typical start to storm season," he said.