Storm brings down tree limbs in Tiffin

TIFFIN — Seneca County and much of Northwest Ohio in general saw high winds and heavy rainfall Wednesday night, and the county was under a tornado watch from about 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday, a portion of that time under a tornado warning. Though the storm raged through the area, the city of Tiffin saw minimal damage Wednesday night, Tiffin police Chief David Pauly said. "When I got to work today, there were a number of limbs down — I had even heard one limb caused minor damage to a residence in town (with no injuries reported), but by and large we were pretty lucky, I would say," Pauly said Thursday. He said he is grateful to the citizens, employees of the street department and anyone else who has assisted in picking up limbs from roads, sidewalks and other public areas. Hancock County Nearby Hancock County also saw massive rainfall, high winds and a tornado warning with Wednesday night's storm. Winds were reported up to 72 mph in Findlay by the Findlay Airport to the National Weather Service just before midnight Wednesday. Many residents lost power temporarily, and AEP reported 19 Findlay customers were without power as of 4:45 p.m. Thursday. The company's outage map also showed up to five customers without power in some of Hancock County's villages, like McComb and Vanlue, at 4:45 p.m. Thursday. Hancock County Sheriff Mike Cortez and Chief Deputy Sheriff R. Thomas Walker surveyed the county about 8 a.m. Thursday. "[We] noted some structural damage to barns and sheds. There were small patches of tree damage, with very minimal road blockage. We did note only a couple of road signs were either bent or laying down," Walker said Thursday. Walker said there was quite a bit of flooding in fields throughout the county, and a couple of roadways blocked as of Thursday morning. Township and ODOT crews and utility companies have been out across the county, working to open roads, set up barricades and restore services, he said. No injuries have been reported in the county. Weekend forecast Seneca County and much of Northwest Ohio in general is still under a flood watch until Sunday morning. Rainfall is expected to reach 4-6 inches by the end of the weekend. A Thursday update from NWS states flooding of rivers and creeks is still a concern. "Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible mainly Friday night through Sunday morning," the updated alert reads. Storms are expected to bring moderate to heavy rain across Northwest Ohio Friday and Saturday nights, from 2 to 4 inches total, the alert states. Bret Nye contributed to this story.