Power Outage in Ironton, OH

Trees and power lines were downed across numerous areas of the county. As a result, 24,000 homes lost power for a period of time.

Trees and power lines were blown down in the Coal Grove, Lake Vesuvius, and Proctorville townships. A mesonet station in the town of Dean observed a 49 mph wind gust around the time the trees and power lines were downed.

Trees and power lines were blown town across multiple townships in the county, including Ironton, South Point, and Chesapeake. In Proctorville, power lines were downed across a local road and laid onto a parked car.

Several water line issues in private residences, businesses, and commercial/residential care facilities occurred. This included fire suppression sprinkler systems freezing and bursting into senior apartments as well as the Proctorville Center located in Ohio University. The city of Ironton experienced power failures and water main disruptions that took three days to complete full restoration.

In Coryville, power lines were broken and blown down.

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down throughout the town of Coal Grove.

A tree and power line fell down along County Road 56.

Trees were blown down onto power line along State Route 93.

Trees fell onto power lines along Route 141.

Trees were blown down onto power lines.

Trees knocked down a power pole.

A tree fell down onto power lines. A power pole was snapped. Route 7 was closed.

Trees were blown down onto power lines.

Fallen trees brought down power lines and even a few power poles.

Trees were blown onto power lines.

Scattered locations had trees down on power lines.

Trees and power lines were blown down. A roof was blown off one house, and one deck was reported damaged.

Power lines and trees were blown down.

A strong low pressure system moved through the Great Lakes on the 26th and 27th. This pushed a cold front through the middle Ohio River Valley on the afternoon of the 27th. Very strong synoptic winds behind the front led to a couple thousand utility company customers losing power as multiple trees fell onto power lines across southeast Ohio. Hardest hit by the power outages were Gallia, Jackson and Meigs Counties. In Lawrence County, a tree fell through the roof of a home in Coal Grove. The automated weather system at Ohio University Airport near Albany measured a max wind gust of 45 mph just before 1 PM EST.

A strong low pressure system moved from the Plains into the western Great Lakes on the 14th. This pushed a cold front through the middle Ohio River Valley that evening into the early hours of the 15th. Thunderstorms formed ahead of this front and tapped into very strong winds aloft to produce isolated tree and power line damage.

A strong cold front swept through the middle Ohio River Valley on the 20th. This brought a round of gusty winds which led to scattered tree damage and power outages. Several thousand power customers experienced outages that evening.

A severe ice storm occurred, when 1 to 2 inches of ice from freezing rain accumulated on trees and power lines. The precipitation initially started as snow then changed to rain then freezing rain. The freezing rain was mixed with sleet at times. The storm finally ended as a period of snow on Monday, the 17th. Roads remained blocked by fallen branches and trees for several days. A Meigs County deputy sheriff said on the 17th, "We've got trees coming down about every 5 minutes". The city of Pomeroy was without electricity for 5 days, No electricity lead to water shortages. Refrigerated frozen foods spoiled. Governor Taft declared a state of emergency in Lawrence, Gallia, and Meigs Counties for the severe icing. Jackson and Vinton Counties in southeast Ohio were later added for a request of federal assistance. President Bush declared a major disaster that included Jackson, Lawrence, Vinton, Meigs, and Gallia Counties. See FEMA disaster number 1453.