High winds down power lines, trees throughout Lorain County

The remnants of a tropical storm moved through Lorain County on Wednesday evening, downing trees and power lines in less than an hour. National Weather Service meteorologist Zach Sefcovic said areas around Amherst saw wind gusts of around 70 mph, thanks to a line of thunderstorms that entered the county around 7 p.m., sweeping west to east. The storms moved through fairly quickly, after high winds and rain persisted for 30 to 45 minutes. A family in Eaton Township was referred to the Red Cross after a tree fell onto the back part of their Island Road home, collapsing around 50 percent of the structure, according to firefighter Brad Puchmeyer. "Everyone made it out and the fire department was able to get a cat out for them," he said. In Avon Lake, several trees came down — including one onto a house off Crestwood Drive — branches pulled at wires and the wind broke a couple of utility poles, fire Capt. Jim Berry said. Across from the high school, a transformer caught fire, but despite the scattered damage, no one was injured. Crews from First Energy were on scene, working to restore power to residents, he said. By around 11 p.m., roughly 2,230 Avon Lake customers were still without power, according to First Energy's website. More than 1,500 customers throughout other parts of the county were also affected. Berry said the department went into "storm mode," prioritizing calls for about an hour. "And then as fast as it started, it stopped," he said. The damage in Lorain County was far less severe than other parts of the state. In Sandusky, strong winds brought down the roof of the State Theatre in the city's downtown, according to the Sandusky Register. No one was injured. The Associated Press reported severe storms in lower Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa. Remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal ended its trek from the Gulf of Mexico, cutting through the Midwest before moving into Canada. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com. Brookie Madison contributed to this report.