Central Ohio under high wind warning for Saturday. How strong will the gusts be?
Central Ohio and parts of southeastern Ohio is under a high wind warning beginning Saturday morning and lasting throughout the day until 8 p.m.
The National Weather Service said wind gusts of 55 to 60 mph could affect the area. The wind is part of a weather system moving from the southwest, and portions of Indiana and Kentucky also are under wind advisories.
[5:02 AM] Winds will pick up significantly today, especially between 11AM-5PM. Parts of central Ohio are now in a High Wind Warning.
Winds this strong will make driving difficult and may blow around loose objects. Some scattered tree damage and power outages are also possible. pic.twitter.com/54pAZsOx9M— NWS Wilmington OH (@NWSILN) March 25, 2023
The NWS warns that gusty winds could result in unsecured objects being blown around, tree limbs being blown down and power outages like the one Friday morning that at one point knocked out electricity to more than 2,000 AEP customers, most of them in Franklin County.
Flood warnings and watches are also in effect through much of the southern half of Ohio. Central Ohio remains under a flood watch until 2 a.m. Saturday as pockets of rain continue to make their way through the area. Another one to two inches of rain are possible on Friday evening into Saturday morning.
A flood warning is in effect for Circleville, in Pickaway County as the Scioto River is expected to overflow its banks, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. The river is likely to go above flood stage there close to midnight Friday night and will remain there with more rain forecast until it begins to recede Monday morning.
Flood warnings were in effectg until 8:15 p.m. Friday in Athens and Vinton counties in southeast Ohio, and will continue as flood watches into Saturday afternoon. At mid-afternoon Friday, portions of State Routes 356, 681, 56 and 681 in Athens County were closed due to flooding caused by nearby streams or ponding. In Vinton, part of State Routes 328 and 56 were closed.
Central Ohio has gotten one to two inches of rain over the past 40 hours, according to NWS Wilmington, with places south of I-70 getting up to three inches.
bbruner@dispatch.com
@bethany_bruner
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gusts could hit 55 mph Saturday as high wind warning issued
