'Another multi-day restoration event possible,' AEP Ohio warns ahead of windy weather

Monroe Trombly, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
Workers remove loose bricks Monday after high winds last weekend brought down a section of a building's chimney and separated part of the roof from the commercial-residential building at Oak Street and Parks Avenue. The building was temporarily evacuated due to the damage, but residents and business owners were allowed to return after stabilization work was performed.

Just a day after AEP Ohio finished restoring power to some customers in its Southeast and Northeast districts from last weekend's high winds, the Columbus-based utility sounded the alarm that expected storms and strong winds starting Friday night into Saturday could cause more power outages.

On Thursday, AEP issued a news release that said damaging wind gusts are expected Friday evening across the state, but the greatest risk for "significant utility problems comes with widespread, frequent strong wind gusts Saturday morning through evening."

On Friday morning, the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for a large area of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, including Franklin County. The advisory notes that winds are likely to be sustained between 25 and 35 mph with gusts of up to 55 mph possible.

The advisory goes into effect at 6 a.m. Saturday and lasts through 8 p.m. Saturday.

An estimated 125,000 AEP customers lost power last weekend due to strong winds with gust over 60 mph in some places, taking out about 230 poles and some 2,000 spans of wire. Customers in some places like Athens, North and South Canton and Steubenville did not get their power restored until late Wednesday night — and only then with outside help provided to AEP through mutual assistance from utilities and contractors in seven states.

AEP has alerted those utilities and contractors that they likely may be needed again this weekend after storms with more rounds of high winds move through the state, particularly in the utility's Southeast District that includes customers in Athens, Lanaster, Marietta and Pomeroy.

"Confidence is highest for another multi-day restoration event in our highly forested, more sensitive territories in southeast Ohio," AEP Ohio said in the release.

Tom Mazza, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Charleston, West Virginia office, which covers southeast Ohio, said wind gusts of 45 mph to 55 mph are possible Saturday in southeast Ohio.

The same goes for Columbus and central Ohio, where similar wind gusts are expected at times Saturday.

In its release, AEP acknowledged weather models could change, but wanted to get ahead of the latest inclement weather by warning customers about the possibility of outages again this weekend so they could make preparations.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@monroetrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: High winds may cause more power outages this weekend, AEP Ohio warns