STORM CENTER 7
When severe weather strikes, count on the Storm Center 7 team to bring you the latest at the WHIO Weather App, AM 1290 News and 95.7 WHIO.
Quick mid-afternoon storms ripped at least two dozen trees from the ground Saturday, striking several homes across the Miami Valley and cutting power for about 21,000 customers.
“By far the biggest impact we saw from these storms were the winds,” said Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Brett Collar. “We had radar-estimated winds between 60 and 70 miles per hour. The strongest wind gust that I saw via the National Weather Service was a 60 mile per hour wind gust in downtown Dayton.”
Damage dotted the map in places like Lewisburg, Preble County, where Dustin Music received a call to learn a tree fell through his South Commerce Street garage.
“I rushed home and now I’m just standing here trying to figure things out,” said Music, a homeowner since May. “It’s just been flattened, destroyed with one wall standing. It’s gut-wrenching.”
“We’re just fortunate no one was home because it could have been bad,” he said.
Across town, Ronnie League and his brothers watched as a large tree smashed through a silver car.
“The tree popped and down it went,” League said, noting the downed tree blocked the road for about 45 minutes.
In Enon, a tree reportedly caught fire next to a transformer on Joseph Drive. In Middletown, winds ripped down a 2 foot diameter tree, Collar said.
“In addition to that we saw some heavy rainfall,” Collar said. “Nearly three inches of rain fell in Miamisburg.”
“At one point there were more than 1,000 lightning strikes in just 15 minutes,” he said.
Partly cloudy skies with the chance for a few showers and thunderstorms are expected Sunday, though the rain is not anticipated to be widespread, Collar said. Highs will be near 90 degrees and heat index values will again be near triple digits. Rain chances are slim Monday and Tuesday, with a better shot to see rain return Wednesday. Highs for the upcoming week are expected to be in the 80s.
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