Features
High winds topple trees, down power lines
Hurricane force winds blew through the region on Wednesday, March 8, leaving destruction in their wake. Gusts were recorded up to a near-record 81 miles per hour. Garbage cans and other items turned into projectiles, shingles and siding tore off homes, trees splintered and uprooted damaging homes and downing power lines.
Though no serious injuries were reported, Monroe County 911 fielded more calls for service in a single day than since the ice storm of 1991. Area-wide, more than 140,000 were without power at peak. It was the most widespread outage in this area in 14 years. It is expected to be several days before full service is restored.