Akron residents recover after storm: Thousands still without power, 6 tornadoes confirmed

A sudden howling wind roused 60-year-old Akron resident Michelle Hildreth from her job as a medical transcriber early Friday morning. Curious about what was happening outside, she peered through a window and could hear a faint cracking noise that quickly grew louder.

That's when she ran out of her house on Goodview Avenue with her hands above her head and pounding on her neighbor's door to seek shelter, she recalled. Then, she heard a tree collapse.

"I thought I was going to die in my house," she said.

Hildreth is one of many Northeast Ohio residents with property damage from overnight severe storms and strong winds that slammed the region, knocking out power and closing schools and roads. Four tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in Cleveland, Mentor, Ottawa County and Trumbull County. Another two were later confirmed in Erie and Medina counties.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, 160,811 FirstEnergy customers are without power, down from 220,000. This includes 30,000 in Summit and Portage counties. The Portage outages equaled 25% of FirstEnergy's customers in the county, down from 35%.

"Due to the extent of damage, restoration work is expected to continue into the weekend in the hardest hit areas," FirstEnergy reported. "Our primary focus at this stage is to remove any hazards and assess the damage so that our crews can access the site of an outage and begin to safely make the repairs."

Picking up the pieces

Hildreth looked down from the hill in her backyard that overlooks her home. A large branch fell off a tree she said was likely starting to rot.

It landed in the middle of her house, crashing through the structure, allowing water to seep through causing more damage, she said.

"For some 20 years I knew this tree would fall someday," she said. "It was just a matter of time."

Inside her home, two spare rooms had branches poking through the ceilings and walls as water damage ballooned the affected areas.

Despite the damage, Hildreth focused on the positive aspects of her situation. Her bedroom, bathroom, living room and office were untouched.

"I lucked out because my brand new white car didn't get damaged," she said. "Insurance is also covering this, so I can update the home."

Helping her clean up and examine the damage were friends, neighbors and her boyfriend, Steve Hays.

Confirmed tornado in Cleveland

Multiple tornado warnings were declared throughout the night, including one that stretched from Cleveland through Twinsburg and northern Portage County, according to the National Weather Service.

The confirmed Cleveland tormado touched down and traveled for just under one mile along Euclid Avenue, the NWS reported, before dissipating just before the Cleveland Clinic main campus.

This was the first tornado to touch down in Cleveland since 1966, News 5 Cleveland reported.

The Mentor and Ottawa County tornadoes also were EF-1, the second lowest level of tornado with winds of 86 to 110 mph. Two more EF-1 tornadoes were recorded with one in Spencer, which is in western Medina County, with 90 mph winds and one in Erie County that also clocked in at 90 mph. A weaker EF-0 tornado was confirmed in Bristolville in Trumbull County.

Winds peaked at 49 mph at Akron Canton Airport while one gust topped out at 80 mph Southwest of Kent, NWS reported.

Roads were closed for cleanup

New Franklin fire crews responded to wires and trees down while units worked on putting out a structure fire at Valley Crest Drive and Renniger Road Friday morning.

Graham Road closed for debris cleanup between State Route 8 and Harriet Road, the vllage of Silver Lake reported.

In Portage County, the Ohio Department of Transportation closed State Route 44 between State Route 303 and State Route 82 for downed power lines.

Damaged Cleveland church, trees down, power out

The NWS reported a church was damaged and a tree fell on the Dunham Tavern Museum, both in Cleveland.

The Stow Fire Department posted a picture of a large tree down on Darrow Road, while Coventry firefighters reported wire sand trees down. Mogadore Road is closed as of 6 a.m. from Gilchrist to Marion due to a downed tree, Mogadore police reported.

Summit County Tallmadge Avenue offices resumed normal operations Friday, one day after government offices in the area lost power, according to the county.

The National Weather Service reported power poles broken in Aurora and a tree that fell on a car in Goodyear Heights in Akron.

Are schools closed?

Schools are closed across Summit and Portage counties as crews attempt to restore power and clear the roads of fallen trees, branches and other debris.

Closures in Summit County include Stow-Monroe Falls City Schools, Fort Island Primary School, Seton Catholic School, Redeemer Christian School, Holy Family-Stow and Silver Lake Elementary, according to News 5 Cleveland.

Portage County closures include Aurora City Schools, Kent City Schools, LEAP Program-Kent, Ravenna School District, Streetsboro City Schools, Valley Christian Academy and Windham Ex. Village Schools.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Power outages in Akron: 160,000 FirstEnergy customers still in dark