Storms Smack Ohio Valley, Leaving Flooding, Power Outages In Wake
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WHEELING -- The Ohio Valley was pelted by a sudden storm burst Wednesday afternoon, its heavy rains flooding roads to the point of being impassable and its strong winds toppling structures and sending trees crashing onto streets.
Blocked roadways and power outages vexed residents for hours after the rains subsided, leaving them with plenty to clean up.
Storm clouds rolled through the valley mid-Wednesday afternoon. As lightning flashed and thunder cracked, the rain went from steady to torrential. In the Springdale section of Wheeling, a rush of water barreled down the hill and down Grant Avenue. The road was even more treacherous on Park View Lane. Drivers headed toward the intersection of Park View and National Road were turned back as high waters made it impossible to cross.
Elm Grove also dealt with high water, as well as a large toppled tree near Kruger Street and National Road. A group of good Samaritans congregated at the tree Wednesday afternoon wielding chainsaws to help speed up reopening the road.
At about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Ohio County Emergency Management Director Lou Vargo said flooding was starting to recede. But he advised caution.
"Creeks are already high, and more rain is expected (Wednesday) night," he said. "There are chances of flash flooding possible."
Photo by John McCabe
Water rushes past Park View Lane at its intersection with Glessner Place on Wednesday.
The areas hardest hit by flooding were the Triadelphia, Valley Grove, Middle Creek and Short Creek areas. During the apex of the afternoon flood, a couple became trapped in their car along U.S. 40 in Triadelphia. They were rescued and brought to safety, Vargo said.
More than 4,000 residents in the Triadelphia, Elm Grove and Woodsdale areas — along with hundreds more throughout the region — also were without power late Wednesday afternoon. According to Appalachian Power's outage map, the company estimated that most of those customers would have power restored by 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Those outages also shut off traffic lights in various sections of National Road.
"There were a couple of small accidents, but none with injuries," Vargo said. "They were slow velocity accidents due to the backup at the street lights."
Phillip Stahl, spokesman for the Wheeling Police and Fire departments, said that, for a few hours after the storm "the biggest issue (was) the power outage." This is because traffic lights were out along National Road between Washington Avenue and Kruger Street.
Parts of National Road, including Exit 4 on Interstate 70, also were closed for a time, but the area was cleaned up and reopened, according to Stahl.
Flooding occurred along Cadillac Avenue, he said. "Little Wheeling Creek was very swift, looked rapid-like," Stahl said.
Stahl added that, as of 4:30 p.m., the police department had not received any calls regarding homes being flooded by the rain.
High winds also made an unfortunate mark in Brooke County. The Toll House, which stood at the entrance of Brooke Hills Park on Washington Pike, had been leveled.
Photo by Andrew Grimm
The Toll House, which stood at the entrance of Brooke Hills Park on Washington Pike, was leveled by the high winds of Wednesday's storms.
Marshall County, which got hammered by high winds and heavy rains last week, fared much better Wednesday. Marshall County Emergency Management Director Tom Hart said the county had not seen significant damage from the storms as of Wednesday afternoon.
"Ohio County was getting pounded, but as for us, right now, everything's good," Hart said. "We've still got a couple hours and have some storms coming through, but as of right now, we're in fairly decent shape."
That was good news for Cameron residents, who were still cleaning up from last week's storms, which flooded streets and homes and sent water into Cameron Elementary School. Cameron Mayor Greg Gallentine said Wednesday afternoon that his city had been spared from the worst of the storm.
In Ohio, one person posted a video on social media of vehicles driving on U.S. 40 in Brookside in water deep enough to make the roadway look like a rushing creek. Another posted a photo of several trees downed on Willow Grove Road in Belmont County. It appeared that section of road was completely impassable.
The heavy rain made some of the major roadways treacherous for motorists. Ohio 7 in Martins Ferry took on heavy rain, overwhelming the drains and forcing vehicles to slow down and drive carefully.
"I had a report of water in the intersection in Bridgeport, but the caller couldn't determine if it is from flash flooding or standing water, from backed up sewers/drains," said Becky Horne, administrative assistant for the Belmont County EMA.
Joselyn King, Alan Olson, Scott McCloskey and Shelley Hanson all contributed to this report.