CLEVELAND (AP) — Utility crews Friday were facing a tough task after storms packing powerful winds knocked out electricity to thousands across Ohio.
The wind followed rain and thunderstorms which swept across the state on Thursday night.
The gusty winds downed trees, branches and power lines. More than 100,000 customers were without electricity throughout the state, according to PowerOutage.US. As of 9:30 a.m. Friday, more than 4,000 Duke Energy customers were still without power in Ohio and Kentucky, according to Duke's outage map.
The storms knocked trees into the roadway and private drives last night... the Butler County Emergency Response Services Team (ERS) was deployed to assist clearing the path and helping anyone stranded or in need. pic.twitter.com/TXl4DaUQCx
— Richard K. Jones (@butlersheriff) March 26, 2021
Most of the state saw wind gusts of 50 mph. Forecasters reported peak gusts of 63 mph were recorded in Marysville.
The power outages and downed trees forced some school districts to close or delay opening.
Forecasters were expecting the winds to subside throughout Friday, but the windy conditions could hamper efforts to restore electricity. There was no word from utilities on how long that would take.
