WARREN - Two severe thunderstorm cells passed through Trumbull County Tuesday evening bringing downed trees, power outages, lightning strikes and reports of fire alarms and traffic stopped due to torrential downpours.
No injuries were reported.
The storms' first cell heavily hit northern Trumbull County, including Mecca, Vernon and Johnston, around 9:30 p.m., police dispatchers and residents in the areas said.
Johnston Township Trustee Don Barzak said he knew of reports of downed trees and wires along state Route 88 at Route 5, west of state Route 193. He said at 9:33 p.m., there were reports of a transformer that blew and a minor electrical fire at Route 88. At 9:38 p.m., there was a report of trees and wires down on Route 88.
Barzak said he left the Trumbull County Fair in Bazetta shortly after 9 p.m., and could see the skies becoming very dark north of Bazetta. He said there were strong winds and heavy rains. He said a family member had to travel a different route home due to the trees on Route 88.
Mecca Township Trustee Blake Peterson said there were heavy winds and lightning.
The Trumbull 911 dispatch center reported numerous downed wires, trees and debris throughout the area. Police were reporting a vehicle around 10 p.m. on Route 7 in Vernon was damaged by a tree falling on it with the driver pulling into Badger High School parking.
Reports included possible funnel clouds sighted in Mesopotamia around 8 p.m.
A second storm, which hit central Trumbull County the hardest, caused additional damage before crews had a chance to address issues related to the first cell.
Traffic lights were out throughout county and officials were advising drivers to be cautious because of poor visibility, strong winds and flooded roads.
Police in Warren reported having to pull their cruises to the roadside because they were not able see due to the heavy rain.
Around 11 p.m. the National Weather Service in Cleveland issued a tornado warning for several counties including Mahoning. Further south, Columbiana County had a severe thunderstorm warning.