MENTOR, Ohio — Communities east of Cleveland woke to extensive damage Friday after the National Weather Service says an EF-1 tornado touched down in Mentor.
“Midnight hit, the sky went white, and we just heard loud booms. Trees started falling everywhere,” said Sommer Smiciklas, who lives on the city’s Northwest side.
Smiciklas and her neighbors along Culver Blvd. were cleaning up fallen trees, scattered branches and damaged property Friday afternoon. Tree service crews were using cranes to lift large trees from garage roofs, and others were pulling tree limbs out of vehicles, where wind hurdled them early Friday morning.
“I heard the winds last night. It came from the North, real loud,” said Mike Lindsey.
His car and garage roof were covered by branches that snapped off several large trees in his yard.
Some repair workers noted the scope of the damage was unlike anything they’d seen.
“I have seen 40x20 pole barns, I’ve seen the backs of houses taken off, and right now it’s just a waiting game for these guys to get the trees off the roofs - so we can go tarp them and secure them and make sure that they’re dry,” said Greg Pike, a sales representative for Campo Roofing.
According to the National Weather Service, a tornado began West of Dartmoor Road near Mentor Avenue around midnight Friday. It tracked east for more than three miles and ended south of Donald E. Kruger Park, leaving a trail of damage 150 yards wide.
“I have this about a 200-year-old oak tree that wasn’t touched by that wind,” said Bob Fisher, who lives on Fairview Avenue.
The high winds sheared the tops off the canopy of the tree-lined street. One large tree knocked a transformer from a power pole near the end of Fisher’s driver.
“I’m just glad that everybody’s OK. All of the neighbors have gotten together here. Nobody’s hurt, and everybody’s homes are doing OK, so that’s the best thing,” he said.
The city tells News 5 that no storm-related injuries had been reported Friday afternoon. Some neighbors said they felt fortunate the damage also wasn’t worse.
“We are lucky. We are one of the lucky ones,” Smiciklas said.
Utility companies told neighbors power would likely not be restored until Wed., Aug. 30. The city is coming up with an action plan to reopen roads, clean up debris and repair wires. More details are expected on Monday.
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