Chain saws sliced through felled trees and brooms swept the pavement Wednesday throughout Greater Cincinnati after overnight storms produced flooding, hail and winds of up to 80 mph.
"This type of damage is frequent with these types of storms," said Sam McNeil, a meteorologist manager with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio. "It was a small storm right up until about 12 (midnight), then there was some action."
Marble-sized hail was seen in the western part of Hamilton County, and in southern Clermont County, rain hit the 3-inch mark.
Lightning caused a fire in Green Township that caused almost $25,000 in damage to a house in the 3200 block of Milverton Court, said Assistant Fire Chief Tom Kotte. No one was home at the time. The storms caused an estimated $200,000 in property damage throughout the township, Mr. Kotte said.
Shredded trees and power outages in other areas are blamed on what the meteorologist called a microdownburst. A downburst is caused when strong winds are pushed vertically to the ground, and the air mass spreads out like a fan.
Residents in the 300 block of Pedretti Avenue in Delhi Township saw the direct result of the downburst. Pat Brennan lost the 20-foot-tall pear tree that sat in her front lawn, and neighbor Shirley Lyman said it will cost her $300 to remove broken limbs from her front lawn.
"My son got that tree 40 years ago when he was in school," Mrs. Lyman said. "You really don't expect these things to happen." Mrs. Brennan said she woke up around midnight and saw an electrical wire in the street. Police closed the street and removed the downed line.
Delhi Township crews received 10 calls in half an hour during the height of the storm, including one about a room torn off a single-family home in the 4200 block of Copperfield Lane, said Delhi Fire Lt. Kevin Braun.
In southern Clermont County, heavy rains caused flash flooding and the buckling of blacktop, said Chief Beth Nevel of Washington Township Emergency Services.
More wet weather is expected today.
David Eck contributed to this report.
