Damage still being assessed after winds of up to 70 mph hit region
Power outages, fallen limbs and debris of all sorts awaited residents of North Central Ohio on Tuesday morning after two severe storms swept the region overnight.
It was a concerning blow ahead of temperatures that were forecast into the high 90s with a heat index expected to reach as much as 104.
Whether or not a derecho or a tornado had accompanied the thunderstorm was still not determined by late Tuesday morning, according to Brian Mitchell, a meteorologist with the Cleveland office of the National Weather Service.
“We’re still looking at the reports,” he said. “We still haven’t made a full determination on things yet.”
Power still out to many Richland County residents
What was clear, though, was that the the southern portion of Richland County was hit harder than anywhere else in the region, according to Joe Petrycki, director of the Richland County Emergency Management Agency.
As of 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, as many as 45% of the county’s residents were still without electricity.
“Parts of our county have sustained multiple downed lines, downed trees,” Petrycki said. “We have quite a few blocked roads spread throughout the county.”
Electrical service providers were pulling in crews from out of state in an attempt to restore power before the high temperatures entered the region Tuesday afternoon.
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The EMA director said hospitals and nursing homes were “holding steady” as they cared for their patients — all had electrical service as of late Tuesday morning.
“They seem to be doing well,” Petrycki said.
No major injuries had been reported as of late Tuesday morning, the EMA director said, although the storm had sent a few people to the hospital.
Ashland County waiting to see if there was a tornado
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Artist Marianela Fuentes grew up in the state of Coahuila in northeast Mexico, an area rich in dinosaur fossils. (Emma Lee/WHYY) 
The sculpture, created by Mexican artist Marianela Fuentes, is covered in tiny beads depicting Native American themes. The designs on the head represent the universe. (Emma Lee/WHYY) 
