The inner harbor at Lorain is calm, but the other side, not protected by the breakwalls, gets slammed by high winds and waves Monday afternoon. (Photo by Bruce Bishop, The Chronicle-Telegram.)
The first full week of fall started with high winds, sporadic power outages across the county and downed power lines that caused damage to one Lorain home.
The blustery weather affecting much of Northeast Ohio is the result of a strong cold front moving east into the area. The National Weather Service has issued wind advisories for the northern two-thirds of the state and said gusts of up to 45 mph are possible through early today.
Across northern Ohio, gusts could hit 50 mph — winds that are strong enough to cause minor property damage.
By midafternoon Monday, the wind downed power lines that damaged a Lorain home.
Lorain fire Capt. Jeff Fenn said a strong gust snapped a tree limb in the backyard of a home on North Nantucket Drive and pulled down electrical wires as it came to the ground.
The downed wires caused electricity to surge throughout the home. The heat burned the insulation off the wires, causing them to smoke, he said.
Waves splash over the breakwall in Lorain Harbor as high winds moved into the area with a low-pressure system Monday. (Photo by Bruce Bishop, The Chronicle-Telegram.)
Fenn said the home’s resident called the Fire Department when — as he was getting ready to take a shower around 10:29 a.m. — he smelled smoke and rushed to the lower level of the split-level home, Fenn said.
He noticed moderate smoke throughout his home but could not find a fire source. Fenn said the resident opened all the downstairs windows and left the home to call for help.
When firefighters arrived, they immediately shut off the power. As it was, Fenn said there was no actual fire, but firefighters went through the home with a thermal imager looking for hot spots. Ohio Edison and Columbia Gas were also called to the home.
Fenn said the home will need extensive repair work.
Despite that problem, power outages in the county were limited to a couple hundred households, said Mark Durbin, spokesman for FirstEnergy. They were scattered throughout the area.
“The day was typical for when the wind starts blowing,” Durbin said. “That’s why we tell customers to call us as soon as their power goes out because with sporadic outages you can not rely on your neighbor to call us because you may be the only one out of power on your street.”
Power went out from time to time at the Lorain County Justice Center and downed power lines sent crews to a section of Washington Avenue shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
