Ohioans have come to expect crazy weather patterns, but hurricane-force winds that knocked out power across the state still came as a surprise Sunday night. The combination of Hurricane Ike and a low pressure cold front led to wind gusts in excess of 70 mph which persisted for several hours and resulted in widespread damage, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Wilmington, Ohio. Across Franklin County, trees were uprooted and power lines fell, but Otterbein remained largely unharmed. Overall damage was minor on campus. According to David Bell, director of physical plant and telecommunications, "We lost five large trees and six mature ones." He added that some windows blew in at Clippinger Hall and the Thrift Store, and light fixtures fell at Towers and Center Street. "We were very fortunate," said Bell. Campus only lost power for five hours, around 4-9 p.m., with the exception of Clippinger Hall, which regained power Tuesday morning. The City of Westerville determines priority in restoring power and Otterbein is high on the list. "First, they fix St. Ann's and traffic control, and we're up with them," Bell said. Although the Campus Center lost power, Bill Taylor, general manager of Bon Appetít, said he still served dinner from 5-6:30 p.m. "We fired up the grills that we had used for the weekend and had enough food for everyone who came through, probably 250-275 students, about the same as usual for the first dinner," Taylor said. He added that no food was thrown away, saying "We kept the fridges closed and everything came back on around 9 p.m. so we didn't lose anything." Otterbein classes started regularly Monday, while the majority of schools in Franklin County remained closed. American Electric Power (AEP) spokeswoman, Terri Flora, said Franklin County was the hardest hit, according to an article in the Columbus Dispatch. Monday morning, AEP announced 292,332 customers in Franklin County were without power, nearly 58 percent of its customers. By Wednesday, the number had dropped to 35.9 percent. Official NWS observations measured 75 mph maximum wind gusts at Port Columbus International Airport and gusts of more than 60 mph over a three hour time period. The Dispatch said that MedFlight was grounded for three hours during the late afternoon and was cleared to fly by 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. At least three people were killed in Southwest Ohio and more than one million homes lost power throughout the day. Remnants of the storm can still be seen across Ohio and on campus. The Service Department began cleaning on Monday. "We're at it all day long, but it will still take a good week or so," said Bell. t&c;
Wild winds wreak havoc
More
