Severe weather alerts hit Vinton County as tornado watch continues

Downed trees and broken power lines marked the storm's wake around Oak Hill Thursday morning, and hundreds of Vinton County customers lost electricity as severe weather swept through the region. AEP Ohio reported 677 outages in Vinton County by 8:15 a.m., while Buckeye Rural Electric reported 754, leaving many homes without power for comfort, work and communication.

The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 4:37 a.m. for Jackson County and southeastern Vinton County, warning of 60 mph wind gusts and radar-indicated damage to roofs, siding and trees. The warning listed Jackson, Wellston, Hamden, Coalton, Petersburg and Radcliffe as impacted locations. Earlier, emergency alerts woke central Jackson County residents at 4:22 a.m. with a tornado warning, and a tornado watch remained in effect for Jackson and Vinton counties until 11 a.m. A second tornado warning was issued at 6:02 a.m. for southeastern Jackson County.

No tornado touchdown had been confirmed in Jackson or Vinton counties as of the morning report, but the same storm system produced an EF2 tornado near Elm Grove in Pike County. The National Weather Service said the tornado packed estimated peak winds of 115 mph, cut a path 8.9 miles long and 250 yards wide, and caused no fatalities or injuries. Survey crews said the first evidence of tornadic damage appeared near Union Hill Road, with more serious damage including a wooded hillside blown down, collapsed barns and outbuildings, roof damage and snapped large power transmission lines.

Jackson County Emergency Management Agency Director Robert Czechlewski said about 8:21 a.m. that he was headed to the Oak Hill area to assess damage after early reports of trees falling on homes. Photos from the area showed more storm damage, including downed trees and power lines. Residents dealing with outages or storm damage should stay away from downed lines and debris, report power problems through AEP Ohio or Buckeye Rural Electric, and wait for crews to clear damaged areas before going back near homes or roads.