STORM DAMAGE … Trees with large branches also fell north of Wauseon. (PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER, STAFF)
By: Jacob Kessler
A significant rain and ice event hit the area on Wednesday, February 22nd. Many areas saw a large amount of rain but the more north you went in the counties meant you saw more ice.
Previous warmer temperatures were able to bring some relief in the way that it warmed up roads enough to prevent them from icing over.
This however did not help trees or power lines which saw their temperatures fall to the freezing mark just before the rain set in.
According to the National Weather Service in Northern Indiana, those temperatures helped the rain to freeze onto the tree branches and power lines upon impact.
No official ice accumulations are yet available but nearby accumulations have been reported from Hillsdale County Michigan at .4 of an inch and .3 of an inch southeast of Hamilton Lake in Indiana just west of Edon.
This amount of ice was thanks to low temperatures and a large amount of rain that fell over the area. Much of the area saw between 2 to 3 inches of rain with some pockets seeing lower amounts between 1.5 inches and 2 inches.
Throughout the two-county area, and beyond, numerous reports of damage flooded in to local law enforcement offices.
According to the Williams County Sheriff’s Office, around one hundred calls were received between the evening on Wednesday and the morning that following Thursday.
These calls ranged from power lines down or leaning, trees down, trees taking out power lines and roadway obstructions.
The National Weather Service also stated that they knew of multiple locations that had received damage from the ice due to postings on Twitter.
Thousands of residents were also without power, some for an extended amount of time, due to the amount of ice buildup and sheer number of issues taking place.
By the morning hours of Thursday, most of the power issues had been resolved.
Jacob can be reached at jacob@thevillagereporter.com
STORM DAMAGE … Trees split and branches fell on numerous properties in Fayette. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF JIM BIRD)