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High wind warning canceled as temperatures fall

Following an early morning with lightning and thunder, a rainbow appears at sunrise Wednesday December 9, 2009 in Western Montgomery County.

Staff photo by Jim Noelker Following an early morning with lightning and thunder, a rainbow appears at sunrise Wednesday December 9, 2009 in Western Montgomery County.

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Weather forecasters say southwest to westerly winds will be in the 30 mph to 40 mph range with wind gusts near 60 mph Wed. Dec. 9, 2009 and Thursday.

Staff photo by Ty Greenlees Weather forecasters say southwest to westerly winds will be in the 30 mph to 40 mph range with wind gusts near 60 mph Wed. Dec. 9, 2009 and Thursday.

By Staff reports Updated 9:37 PM Wednesday, December 9, 2009

High winds and cold temperatures raked the Dayton area Wednesday night, Dec. 9, as temperatures began their expected to drop.

The temperature in Dayton was 27 degrees at 6:30 p.m. and is expected to drop to 21 by early Thursday morning. By 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, a high wind warning issued earlier had been cancelled.

With the wind chill, it will feel like 5 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Temperatures are expected to stay around 20 degrees all day Thursday, but it will feel closer to zero.

By about 9:30 p.m. there were 150 Dayton Power & Light customers without power, said Emily Gray, a DP&L spokeswoman. “We will continue working until everyone is restored,” she said.

That’s a good drop from an estimated 1,000 customers without power in the utility’s 24-county service area as of Wednesday afternoon, another DP&L spokeswoman said.

“Our crews are keeping pace with the outages,” said Lesley Sprigg, director of corporate communications. Since midnight Tuesday, 10,500 customers experienced outages, she noted.

And many of those outage calls have been individuals with trees interfering with the service lines to their homes, Sprigg said.

Winds blowing at 55 mph were recorded around noon Wednesday at the Dayton International Airport, according to the weather service.

Power is back on in most of Warren County; more than 1,000 were in the dark earlier in the day. As of 5:30 p.m., just 34 remained in the dark, according to Duke Energy.

Residents who are without power are urged to call Duke to make sure the utility company knows of the outage in their area, utility spokeswoman Johnna Reeder said.

Meteorologist Andy Hatzos said strong winds could continue until late tonight, slowly tapering off to the range of 30 mph to 35 mph on Thursday.

The winds are expected to die down this evening. DP&L crews will continue to work until all problems are resolved.

If you are a DP&L sucstomer and see a fallen power line or experience an outage, call 877-468-8243.

If you are a Duke customer and are experiencing an outage, call Duke at (800) 543-5599.

Problems earlier in the day

In New Lebanon, 193 customers lost power this morning because of a tree that fell on South Lutheran Church Road, Sprigg said. “Several electric poles have to be straightened, which will take a few hours,” she said.

In downtown Xenia, 71 customers were without power for a couple of hours, including the Greene County Courthouse and the Xenia municipal building. The jail was placed on lockdown because of the outage.

Forecasters say southwest to westerly winds will be in the 30 mph to 40 mph range with wind gusts near 60 mph today and Thursday.

Motorists in high-profile vehicles such as SUVs and trucks need to use caution and take it easy on the highways, the weather service warned. It’s also a good idea to secure outdoor holiday decorations.

The weather service’s high wind warning, which is expected to last until 1 a.m. Thursday, is being caused by a deepening low pressure system moving northeast into the western Great Lakes that is pulling a strong cold front across the Ohio Valley.

Tonight, temperatures will drop and the wind chill will be in the single digits.

Sprigg said DP&L has been monitoring the forecast since Monday.

“We traditionally start to see issues with wind gusts exceeding 40 mph,” she said. The most common problems occur when tree limbs hit power lines or uprooted trees fall on lines. Objects of any kind flying or falling onto power lines can cause outages, Sprigg said.

“There will be 500 employees and contractors in the field (Wednesday), available to focus on restoration,” she said. There will also be about 200 employees taking customer calls and analyzing outages and DP&L service centers throughout the region are stocked with repair supplies.

Turn off and unplug all heat-producing appliances in the event of an outage.

Sprigg cautioned people to be careful using candles, portable heaters like kerosene, and generators. Ensure there is proper ventilation before using a portable heater or generator and remember that generators should not be used indoors. If you use any of these items be sure to follow all manufacturers’ instructions.

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