High Wind in Ohio, October 30, 1996

A deep low pressure moving east across Ontario Canada brought winds of 60 to 70 miles per hour, with higher gusts, to Northern Ohio. Trees, limbs and power lines were downed, some across roads, and others on cars, and buildings causing considerable damage. In Cuyahoga County, at Cleveland Hopkins Airport, a stewardess was blown off the steps of a commuter plane but was not injured. At least 2 cars, a truck and a house were struck by falling trees in Bay Village and shingles were blown from roofs in Berea. In Wayne County, signs were ripped from their standards and dropped on roads and a landfill was closed in Paint Township because of flying metal and tin. At Apple Creek, the arc from wind whipped downed electrical wires leading to a barn may have ignited a fire which was then whipped into an inferno by the high winds. The barn and some of the cattle in it were destroyed. A 16 ton concrete wall at a Revco drugstore under construction in Akron in Summit County was toppled and, in Springfield Township, a storage facility under construction was destroyed. Also in Summit County, a 45 year old man, was struck by a falling tree at Raintree Country Club and died of head injuries. A wind gust of 67 miles per hour was reported at Kent in Portage County. A wind gust of 79 miles per hour was reported at Fairport Harbor in Lake County. A 71 mile per hour wind gust was reported in Ashtabula County, where a tree fell on a house in Geneva. In Jackson Township in Mahoning County, a construction barrel was blown into the path of a car, causing the car to collide with a truck and a concrete wall on Interstate 80. The driver of the car was treated for injuries. A 68 mile per hour wind gust was reported at Toledo Express Airport in Lucas County. On Interstate 75 near Bowling Green in Wood County, a wind gust caused a semi truck to veer left of center and sideswipe another rig. There were no injuries. Also in Bowling Green, at least one tree fell on a house, one tree fell on two cars and a dumpster landed on another car. In Perrysburg Township, also in Wood County, the Islamic Center of Toledo was damaged when two minarets on top of a building were toppled and in Liberty Township, a wind gust forced a car into a utility pole, slightly injuring the driver. In Sandusky County, corn stalks that had been injured by corn borers, were very susceptible to the high winds. The loss to the corn crop was estimated at 10 to 30 percent. In Washington Township in Richland County, half the roof was blown from a barn, crumpled, and scattered across a road and a field. Tin strips dangled like confetti from what was left of the roof.