Power Outage in Marion, OH

An Arctic cold front swept through the area shortly before midnight December 23rd. Low pressure along this front tracked over Lake Erie early in the morning on December 23rd and rapidly intensified through the day while slowly lifting northeast across Ontario. With the frontal passage rain changed to snow with temperatures dropping from the upper 30s and lower 40s to sub-zero in about 8 hours. A period of light to moderate snow occurred behind the front across the county through the morning hours of December 23rd before tapering to flurries. The period of snow and rapidly falling temperatures led to a flash freeze and icy conditions on area roadways. While the falling snow became lighter through the daytime hours of December 23rd, winds began increasing during the pre-dawn hours and gusted over 35 MPH through the day. Marion County airport measured a 40 MPH wind gust at 2:52 AM December 23rd before failing. At nearby airports, a 41 MPH gust was clocked at Delaware Municipal at 7:15 AM with 45 MPH gusts recorded in Mansfield three times between 7:22 AM and 1:33 PM. This led to isolated power-outages. Wind gusts very gradually subsided into December 24th, though gusts didn���t drop below 30 MPH until that evening. This led to a prolonged period of widespread blowing and drifting snow beginning early in the morning December 23rd and continuing through the afternoon and evening, with some patchy blowing and drifting snow continuing all the way through Christmas Eve. The greatest impact from this storm was to travel due to the flash freeze and extensive blowing and drifting snow, to go along with low visibility. Nearly 150 minor accidents, slide-offs and disabled vehicles were reported throughout the county on December 23rd and 24th. Several of these accidents resulted in at least minor injuries. The Marion County Sheriff declared a Level 3 snow emergency the morning of December 23rd, which closed all roads in the county to non-emergency travel. This was not lifted until the next morning. Wind chills plunged below 0 by 4 AM December 23rd and did not rise above 0 until late in the evening on December 25th. A wind chill of -36F was recorded at 9:00 AM December 23rd on a mesonet station in Marion. Unfortunately, a 65 year old male lost his life due to prolonged exposure to this cold. A number of burst pipes were reported across northern and central Ohio due to this cold, with temperatures remaining in the single digits until Christmas morning. A trained spotter measured 2.5��� of snow in Marion with this storm.

Power poles downed in Marion.

Fairchild Road closed between Caledonia Ashley Road and Salem Road in Richland Township due to downed power lines.

Marion County Emergency Management provided evidence of significant wind damage across the Marion area due to severe thunderstorm winds of up to 80 mph. Numerous trees and power lines were downed across the city with several large trees falling onto residences. Winds ripped off a significant portion of a roof of an industrial building on the west side of Marion. Winds also caused the brick facade of a building in downtown Marion to collapse onto a vehicle. The vehicle was occupied at the time of the damage and the female occupant sustained minor injuries. There was also evidence on social media that a gustnado may have formed with the squall line that moved through the Marion area just before 6 pm local time.

Marion County Emergency Management provided evidence of significant wind damage across the Marion area due to severe thunderstorm winds of up to 80 mph. Numerous trees and power lines were downed across the city with several large trees falling onto residences. Winds ripped off a significant portion of a roof of an industrial building on the west side of Marion. Winds also caused the brick facade of a building in downtown Marion to collapse onto a vehicle. The vehicle was occupied at the time of the damage and the female occupant sustained minor injuries. There was also evidence on social media that a gustnado may have formed with the squall line that moved through the Marion area just before 6 pm local time.

High winds of at least 60 mph moved through Marion County on the morning of December 30th. Numerous trees and power lines were downed throughout the county, resulting in power outages in Marion, Waldo, and Big Island Township.

A large tree was blown down across the road along with power lines near Cleveland Avenue in Marion.

Several trees and power lines were blown down. This report was from Facebook.

Trees and power lines were downed across the area. Several trees fell onto buildings in the city of Marion. Two vehicles were blown over on US Route 23, north of Marion. Scattered power outages were reported in the county.

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs across the southeastern corner of Marion County. A home in the City of Marion was damaged by a fallen tree. At least two vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. Scattered power outages were reported.

An area of low pressure moved northeast across Ohio during the afternoon and evening hours of December 17th spreading rain across the area. As the low moved out over Lake Erie during the evening, a cold front moved east across northern Ohio. Enough cold air filtered into north central Ohio behind the front to cause the rain to change to freezing rain before it quit. This change occurred mainly west of the Interstate 71 corridor during the evening hours. A three to five hour period of freezing rain occurred from the Marion area northeast through the Bucyrus, Mansfield and Ashland areas to as far north as Sandusky, Lorain and Elyria. The first report of freezing rain occurred around 8 pm and the last around 3 am on the 18th. During that time more than a quarter inch of freezing rain was reported in nine counties. Automated sensors at Mansfield Lahm Airport (Richland County) and the Marion County Airport reported over a half inch of freezing rain. Rainfall totals and ice accumulations quickly tapered off the further north and east you went from those sites. Further west, the rain ended before changing to freezing rain. Little or no freezing rain was reported west of the U.S. Highway 23 corridor. A few accidents and some power outages were reported during the event.

High winds of at least 60 mph downed trees and limbs throughout Marion County. Some homes and buildings lost sections of roofing or siding. A tractor trailer was blown over on U.S. Highway 23 just south of the Marion and Wyandot County line. The driver of the truck was transported to the hospital with non life threatening injuries. Scattered power outages were reported.

Mixed precipitation spread across the area early on the 12th and then transitioned to snow from west to east. Much of the area also saw a period of freezing rain. The snow increased in intensity during the late morning hours with visibilities less than one half mile. North to northeast winds increased as the low passed to the south of the area. Winds gusted to more than 40 mph during the early afternoon hours. Winds continued to gust to more than 30 mph through the evening hours. The strong winds combined with the snow to create significant blowing and drifting and very treacherous driving conditions. Between one and two tenths of an inch of ice accumulation along with 3 to 5 inches of snow was reported in Marion County. Schools across most of northern Ohio were closed on the 12th and the evening commute was very difficult. Dozens of accidents and a some power outages were reported.

High winds downed dozens of trees and large limbs in Marion County. A few electric customers lost power during the storm.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Marion County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 80 mph and a 62 mph gust was measured by an automated sensor on the north end of the county. Over 75 percent of residents lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored till July 5th. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of dozens of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Hundreds of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. At least one semi truck was overturned by the strong winds. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

High winds blew over a semi tractor trailer on Route 23. Numerous trees and power lines were also downed due to the high winds. Many homes sustained damage, mainly from lost roofing or siding.

A mixture of freezing rain and sleet fell on Marion County during the early morning hours of February 1st. Up to a quarter inch of ice accumulation was reported by daybreak. A second round of freezing rain and drizzle began during the afternoon hours and continued into the early morning hours of the 2nd. Some sleet mixed with the freezing rain at times. A few power outages resulted from the freezing rain early on the 1st. Power outages were more numerous on 2nd. Wrap around snow behind the low affected northern Ohio during the daylight hours of the 2nd. Some of the snow was locally heavy with visibilities at times less than a quarter mile. Much of the area saw between one and three inches of snow. The snow quickly ended from west to east during the evening hours. Strong winds also accompanied the precipitation. Many schools were closed on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd because of residual thick ice on parking lots, sidewalks and secondary roads. This ice resulted from the combination of two days of mixed freezing rain, sleet and snow and was up to two inches thick in some areas. Removing the ice from sidewalks and driveways was nearly impossible.

Thunderstorm winds snapped a power pole.

A strong cold front moved across Marion County during the late morning hours of December 9th. Southwest winds behind the front rapidly increased. By midday, wind gusts were in excess of 40 mph. Gusts increased further during the early afternoon hours with peak gusts of around 60 mph reported during the late afternoon hours. A 55 mph gust was measured at the Marion Airport at 2:37 pm. Winds continued to gust to as much as 50 mph through 10 pm. The high winds downed a few trees, utility poles and power lines in Marion County. Scattered power outages were reported. Some homes and buildings in the county sustained minor damage. Most of this was from lost siding or roofing.

A strong cold front moved across Marion County during the evening of February 11th. West to southwest winds gusted to more than 60 mph behind the front. A peak gust of 68 mph was measured by an automated system at the Marion County Airport at 10:53 pm. Winds finally diminished a couple hours before daybreak on the 12th. A semi truck was blown over at 10:42 pm on U.S. Highway 23 near Marion. A second semi was overturned near Marion at 12:14 am resulting in the driver being injured. Hundreds of trees and utility poles were downed in the county causing scattered power outages. Many buildings in the county sustained damage. Most of this was from lost shingles, but a few buildings lost gutters or sections of siding. A large tree fell on a home in southern Marion County causing significant structural damage. Two vehicles in an adjacent garage were also severely damaged.

A mixture of sleet and freezing rain developed during the overnight hours of the 19th and continued through daybreak before changing over to all rain. Around a quarter of an inch of ice was reported across the area, but quickly melted as temperatures rose above freezing during the morning hours, and especially into the afternoon. The impact from the ice was minimal across the area due to temperatures initially right around freezing, as well as the quick warm up during the late morning hours. A few accidents were reported, but there were no reports of power outages during this event.

High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike began late in the afternoon of September 14th and then continued through much of the evening. A peak gust of 65 mph was measured by an automated sensor at the Marion County Airport at 6:31 PM EDT. Damage in the county was extensive with thousands of trees and many utility poles downed. The damage was the most extensive in the southern part of the county. Widespread power outages occurred across the county with some customers without power for as much as a week. Home and building damage across the county was also extensive. The damage ranged from a few shingles torn off to significant structural damage caused by fallen trees landing on roofs. Many awnings and gutters were torn off of buildings as well. Numerous vehicles were damaged by fallen trees and limbs and also by flying debris. This storm hampered travel as downed trees and power lines forced the closure of many roads. Substantial clean up costs were incurred by local governments. Many of the schools in the county were forced to close on Monday the 15th because of the power outages. Significant crop losses occurred as well. Corn and soy bean yields were reduced between 3 and 5 percent in many areas.

Freezing rain began across the area during the morning hours of the 4th. As the day progressed, freezing rain was moderate to heavy at times, but with temperatures just slightly below freezing roadways were able to stay mainly wet. Other objects across the area were able to collect a solid coating of ice. The moderate freezing rain continued into the evening, and even a thunderstorm was observed for a brief period during the evening hours. Between a quarter and half inch of ice accumulated across the area, and numerous trees and power lines were reported down across the area. Many accidents were also reported. The freezing rain eventually changed over to a period of snow through the overnight hours into the 5th.

Numerous trees and power lines were reported down north of the City of Marion. Also just north of Marion, a semi-truck was blown over.

A severe thunderstorm moved into Marion around 4:10 pm. Numerous trees, large limbs, utility poles and power lines came down during the storm. Reports indicate that many trees fell onto homes, garages and cars throughout the city. One of the houses was damaged enough to be considered destroyed. Between 30 and 35 utility poles had to be replaced because of trees and large limbs falling onto them. One house had three trees fall onto it causing extensive damage. A house in Marion that was being remodeled sustained damage by trees. Three people working on the house quickly took shelter on a porch during the storm, but were injuried when a tree fell onto the roof of the porch and collapsed the roof. A twenty-two year old girl was killed when a large tree limb fell onto the car while she was driving. A passenger in the vehicle survived with injuries. ||Additional support was called in to help clean up in Marion. Electric companies and municipal agencies coordinated to help clean up debris. Estimated costs for clean up in Marion were approximately $91 thousand. 369 loads of debris were cleaned up throughout the city.

Freezing rain spread into Marion County during the early morning hours of March 15th. The freezing rain transitioned to light snow around daybreak. Around a quarter inch of ice accumulated along with a dusting of snow. A few power outages and accidents were reported.

Numerous trees and power lines reported down around Marion.

A line of severe thunderstorms moved across Marion County and downed dozens of trees. Scattered power outages were also reported. Several homes, including at least one in Marion, sustained damage during the storm.

Thunderstorm winds downed one tree and one power pole.

Heavy rain and runoff from snowmelt caused extensive flooding in Marion County the first half of January. The worst of the flooding occurred along the Scioto River with the communities of LaRue and Prospect especially hard hit. January 2005 was among the wettest January's on record with 7.08 inches of rain measured at Marion and 7.69 inches at Prospect during the month. In addition to this rain, extensive snowpack existed over Marion County at the beginning of the month. Temperatures in the 40s and 50s the first three days of the month caused a rapid snowmelt and brought area streams and creeks to bankfull just in time for a significant winter storm on the 5th and 6th. Then, just as things began to return to normal, heavy rains fell on the area on the 11th, 12th and 13th causing conditions to once again worsen. At LaRue, the Scioto River went above the flood stage of 11 feet just after midnight on the 1st. The river then remained in flood or just below flood through the middle of the month with crests of 12.7 feet on the 1st and 12.6 feet on the the 6th. Major flooding occurred at Prospect with the river going above the 9 foot flood stage late on the 1st. The river remained in flood through the 18th with a peak crest of 14.17 feet on January 7th. 20 to 30 homes were heavily damaged along Main Street in Prospect with many more damaged in LaRue. Several roads in Marion County had to be closed because of the flooding. Sump pump failures caused by power outages from the ice storm of January 5th and 6th led to many homes sustaining damage from basement flooding. Other homes and business in the county were affected by lowland or nuisance flooding.