Major wind storm losses
May 23-28, 2015
Wind and thunderstorms with continuous rounds of heavy rain, wind and severe thunderstorms hit nine states and caused $1 billion in insured losses. Ohio losses did not reach the “catastrophic threshold” of $25 million. But insured loss estimates for the state reached $14.8 million from this storm front, which included a small F-1 tornado that touched down in Beavercreek on May 26 with peak winds of 105 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Two people suffered minor injuries.
April 7-10, 2015
Wind and thunderstorms hit 16 central states, including Ohio, where damage, including hail and wind, was estimated at $62.7 million. Total insured losses totaled more than $1.2 billion.
May 10-14, 2014
Wind and thunderstorms. According to the National Weather Service, a series of straight-line winds occurred on May 11. NOAA reported an EF-3 tornado near Cedarville along with other storm-related events on May 14. A May 12 tornado was reported in Lorain County.Ohio insured losses totaled $172.7 million.
June-July 2012
Derecho and summer storms. According to the National Weather Service, the June 29 derecho traveled 600 miles in 10 hours with an average speed of 60 mph. Over 800 preliminary thunderstorm/wind reports were taken with peak wind gusts of 80-100 mph.
As many as 4 million customers from Indiana to Virginia lost power, including over a million in Ohio. A federal disaster was declared in the state on June 30. High winds gusting at 80 mph-plus were reported in Coldwater, Dayton, Gahanna and Lancaster. Localized hail also was reported. Two unconfirmed tornadoes were reported in Tuscarawas County.
July 1, 2012
In the wake of the June 29 derecho, another severe weather event occurred two days later. Thunderstorms moved through the Miami Valley, producing large hail and damaging winds. Some wind damage was significant, especially in Miami and Clark counties. Further south, a strong storm over northern Clermont County produced golf-ball sized hail, while a super-cell over Ross County produced baseball-sized hail.
Ohio was the only state that reported major insured losses from both the June derecho and early July storms: $845 million in insured losses and 145,600 claims. According to the Ohio Insurance Institute, this is Ohio’s fourth-costliest natural disaster in recent history from an insured loss standpoint.
March 2, 2012
Ohio Insurance Institute preliminary estimates showed $15.4 million in insured losses from 2,195 claims from hail, high winds and tornadoes. The NWS reported at least six tornadoes across southwestern Ohio. Moscow, a village in Clermont County, was hardest hit by an EF-3 tornado.
Source: Ohio Insurance Institute
Utility crews and private contractors worked overtime Monday to clean up the millions of dollars in damage left by the region’s first major wind storm of 2016, the most destructive since the 2012 derecho.
By historic standards, the 60-mph-plus winds from the Alberta Clipper that blew through the area Saturday weren’t record-breakers. The derecho and summer storms of 2012 had peak wind gusts of 80-to-100 mph.
But the weekend burst did knock down trees and business signs. It blew over a truck on the highway and cut power to 40,000 residents at the peak of the outages. At one point Saturday afternoon, the entire city of Huber Heights was without power.
The highest windspeed reported in the Miami Valley was 65 mph in Potsdam, in Darke County.
Insurance representatives were assessing damage reports Monday.
Mary Bonelli of the Ohio Insurance Institute in Columbus, said the organization plans to survey members to get a damage estimate for the storm. The institute conducts surveys when a damage estimate is believed to be near $25 million.
Utility poles down
In perhaps the storm’s most dramatic incident, a line of 22 utility poles in Miami County were blown down near Covington, at Experimental Farm and Farrington roads. No motorists were injured. The road is expected to be closed through mid-week for pole replacements.
Dayton Power & Light spokesman Bruce Coppock said the line of poles is about 18 years old, and that it withstood the remnants of Hurricane Ike in 2008 and many ice events.
“The winds that we saw right here in Miami County had to be very, very strong,” Coppock said. “In fact, what we’ve seen are the highest recorded winds we’ve seen in our territory … right here in Miami County.”
In Huber Heights, large trees fell on two houses, with downed trees knocking out the entire power grid in the city. An ash tree that fell on a San Juan Court house caused extensive damage, poking holes in the roof and tearing down gutters.
“I was kind of hoping it was just going to be a branch or two. Nope, it’s a whole tree,” said Joshua Hyre, asessing the damage to his fiancee’s grandmother’s house.
A National Weather Service employee in Wilmington reported that winds blew over a semi-truck at about 6:20 p.m. on Interstate 75 in the Anna area in Shelby County, near exit 99.
At University of Dayton Arena, wind tore down a large tent set up in the parking lot.
In Warren County, two people were injured at a grade school track meet hosted by Little Miami Local Schools. A trained spotter reported to the NWS that around 3:30 p.m. a 55-mph wind gust lifted a pole vault mat, injuring several, including two people who had to be taken to a hospital.
High winds toppled the gas pump canopy at a Shell station on Springboro Pike in Miami Twp., and wind blew a pump over at a Marathon station at Needmore Road and Old Troy Pike in Riverside.
In South Charleston, a barn collapsed. Also in Clark County, gusts tipped over a shed in Park Layne.
Cow comes down
According to data from the National Weather Service, wind speeds generally varied between 60 mph at Dayton International Airport and Union City down to the 40-mph range in some parts of Clark and Clinton counties.
Just north of Yellow Springs at Young’s Jersey Dairy, a cow statue atop the restaurant’s sign was blown down. The restaurant said on its Facebook page that the cow survived the ordeal and repairs are underway. Near Young’s Jersey Dairy, a large tree fell across U.S. 68, blocking traffic in both directions.
Some construction work sites in downtown Dayton suffered damage, including Monument Walk and the downtown main library, which is under reconstruction.
DP&L reported that at 12:20 p.m. Monday it had 374 customers still without power. Six hundred crew members were involved in restoration efforts that included additional utility workers from Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and other parts of Ohio.
“We anticipate that the final customers will be restored during the night (Monday). Some of the outages being worked on today involve time-consuming work, such as replacing and repairing poles. Overall, DP&L has replaced more than 65 poles,” a utility representative said. “There is still a significant amount of work that needs to be completed.”
DP&L said it considers Saturday’s winds one of the top 15 events it has handled in the past dozen years.
StormCenter 7 meteorologist McCall Vrydaghs said the storm was accompanied by a low pressure zone that descended from Canada along with cooler air.
The colder temperatures prompted a freeze warning with the possibility of frost until Tuesday morning. The next two weeks should be cooler than normal and homeowners are advised to cover plants or bring them inside, she said.
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