The National Weather Service said it was strong winds — not a tornado – that raced through Lorain County Friday night, buckling a 110-foot electric tower and tearing a roof off an apple storage barn.

Gary Garnet, NWS warning coordinator meteorologist, estimated that winds were at least 80 to 90 mph, and they could have been even stronger at the top of the tower.

It will cost an estimated $100,000 to replace the tower, which was built to withstand 90 to 100 mph winds, said FirstEnergy spokesman Gary Mortus.

Garnet said he surveyed damage patterns and concluded that the damage was the result of strong straight-line winds, which occur during downbursts in a thunderstorm.

“A downburst is like blowing out candles on a cake,” Garnet said. “The wind blows things in one direction, while a tornado is like putting stuff in a blender — it gets chopped and churned.”

There was intermittent damage over about 3 miles, Garnet said.

In Amherst Township, an electric transmission tower near the Ohio Turnpike interchange at state Route 58 was damaged, as was the barn and a home. Storm damage was reported as far east as Midway Mall.

Apple grower Allan Grobe said an estimated 100 to 150 apple trees were damaged, including a four-row swath blown down near the apple barn on Oberlin Road.

He may be able to save some of the trees by staking them up. Aside from the wind damage, Grobe said the weather this year has been perfect for a good apple crop.

The force of the wind that tore off his roof cracked two supporting walls in the two-story, 60- by 40-foot structure, he said.

An insurance adjuster plans to bring in an engineer to determine if the cold-storage apple barn can be saved or if it has to be rebuilt, Grobe said.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

 

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