The weekend forecast includes heavy rains and gusty winds, and the possibility exists for a tornado.
WHIO Meteorologist Dontae Jones said one to two inches of rain could fall and winds of 40 to 50 mph are expected to start Saturday night. Jones said he “can’t rule out another tornado or two.”
“This system will start Saturday night as rain and will bring the storms in by Sunday afternoon/evening,” Jones said.
VIDEO: Possible tornado forms near South Vienna; man reports hearing ‘roaring’ sound
A video obtained by Storm Center 7 Meteorologists and the Springfield News-Sun Friday morning from witness Lori Martin-McCreight shows what appears to be a funnel cloud and possible tornado near South Vienna.
The National Weather Service in Wilmington conducted storm damage assessments after Friday’s storm, targeting damage reports in and around Yellow Springs in Greene County and South Vienna in Clark County. Storm damages were also being assessed by the NWS in Union County, Ohio and in parts of Kentucky and Indiana.
Denny Paul, Harmony Twp. fire chief, said emergency crews got the call around 8:42 a.m. of wires down and trees on the wires at Ohio 54 and U.S. 40 in South Vienna.
When crews arrived, they found a tree had crashed into the historic house. The tree caused major structural damage, Paul said.
Authorities said a man and a woman were inside the home when the tree came crashing down. They were able to get out of the house and were not hurt, officials said.
“The house itself is unlivable. They’re not going to be able to live in there because there is so much damage to the side of the house,” Paul said.
Paul said the tree removal crew reported at least two more homes with damage from fallen trees in different areas across Clark County.
“It sounds like there’s been a lot of wires down, trees down across the whole county,” he said.
Paul said hopefully people heeded the tornado warning and took shelter.
“The tornado warning came out very quick, very fast, and hopefully people listened to it and got in a safe place,” he said.
Other than the historic home, no other property damages were reported in the village, Paul said.
PHOTOS: Heavy rain, severe storms, high winds move through Miami Valley
Paul said he saw a video that appears to show that the funnel “was definitely on the ground.”
Wind gusts between 55 and 66 mph were also reported in parts of the county.
Larry Sykes, of South Vienna, said he heard a “roaring” sound and sawdust and tree branches flying around in the air.
“I was outside for a while, and I didn’t hear anything. And then I went back inside, and I kept hearing something roaring,” Sykes said. “I went back outside and I looked toward Speedway, and all the dust was flying and the branches were flying. It’s like, ‘what is going on?’”
Sykes said he didn’t realize the extent of damages left by the storm until he went to the post office and saw crews working to remove a large tree that came down on the historic home.
Power outages reported throughout area
“It’s kind of scary,” Sykes said. “There’s a lot of weight there. A lot of work. I’ve been here 30 years and that tree’s gotten bigger and bigger. Every year you see storms and you think “Oh, I hope it’s not going to come,’ but today was the day.”
Also, significant storm damage was reported throughout the Clifton and Yellow Springs areas in Greene County.
On State Route 343 in Miami Twp., a barn sustained significant damage, and metal and wood were thrown around the property. A trailer on the property also was overturned.
The damage was reported in the 2000 block around 9 a.m.
On South River Road in Miami Twp., a tree fell onto a home in the 2800 block around the same time.
On East Hyde Road just outside the village of Yellow Springs, a portion of a barn roof was torn off and wrapped around a tree around 8:30 a.m.
There were also several reports of tree damage along East Hyde Road as well. On Corry Street in Yellow Springs, a tree fell onto a house in the 1400 block.
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