Northeast Ohio Counties Issued Tornado Warnings as Thousands are Left Without Power

Several Northeast Ohio counties were issued tornado warnings late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as thunderstorms left thousands of residents without power.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued tornado warnings in Lorain, Medina, Summit, Stark, and Wayne counties after the NWS radar indicated rotation in the clouds. According to the NWS radar, the storms reportedly caused winds gusts up to 70 miles per hour and some areas experienced large hail.

According to the NWS, at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, severe thunderstorms moved through Ottawa, Lucas, Wood, Erie, and Sandusky counties, with reports of wind gusts of 60 miles per hour and ping pong-sized hail.

The storm was spotted seven miles southeast of Medina, near Wadsworth, at 11:45 p.m. and approached near Grafton, seven miles northwest of Media, at 11:29 p.m. The storm then traversed Massillon, nine miles west of Canton, at 12:08 a.m. and by 12:18 a.m. the storm was near Canton and moving southeast at 45 miles per hour.

Most of northern Ohio, including Cuyahoga, Summit, Lorain, Medina, Lake, Portage, Geauga, Ashtabula, and Trumbull counties, was under a severe thunderstorm watch until 3 a.m. this morning.

There were reports of storm damage in Stark County, but there have been no reports of injuries. as thousands were left without power throughout the region.

WKYC reported that FirstEnergy confirmed more than 64,000 people in Northeast Ohio reported power outages around 12:30 a.m. local time. More than 90,000 people reported being without power by 1 a.m.

In Summit County, more than 22,000 people were without power, Cleveland.com reported, while 10,000 experienced power cuts in Lorain and Portage counties. In Medina County, more than 9,000 were without power.

More than 4,400 Elyria residents were without power and more than 5,000 power outages were reported in Cuyahoga. In Geauga County, more than 4,000 residents were without power while around 3,300 people in Lake County experienced power outages.

Utility crews have been dispatched to the areas for repairs but it is unknown when power will be restored.

Kelly Dobeck, a meteorologist for Cleveland 19 News, shared a video by Jared Svoboda of the storm as seen from Southbridge Boulevard in Brunswick.

In response to Dobeck's video, Aaron Rigsby, storm chaser KKTV11 News shared a map of the storm and said: "Definitely a stout tube here. Right spot too since looking south out of Brunswick."