Storm Shuts Down Ohio Nuclear Plant

 OAK HARBOR, Ohio (AP)  A fast-moving storm slammed into northern
 Ohio, forcing a nuclear power plant to shut down, damaging buildings and
 injuring 14 people. 
 
 National Weather Service forecasters said a tornado hit late Wednesday near
 the Davis-Besse nuclear plant near Oak Harbor, about 25 miles east of
 Toledo. Workers spotted a funnel cloud near the plant cooling tower. The
 plant shut down automatically when the storm severed transmission lines
 between it and another plant in Pennsylvania, said Chuck Krueger, spokesman
 for Toledo Edison, which operates Davis-Besse. 
 
 Plant officials said the idled reactor was safe and an inspection was under
 way to determine damage. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it was
 sending a team of specialists to help with the inspection. 
 
 Davis-Besse was still shut down today, said Ruth Dyke, spokeswoman for the
 Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency. 
 
 Emergency officials, which received tallies from the hospitals, today put the
 number of injured at 14. One of them was in critical condition. Early news
 reports had said at least 30 people were taken to hospitals. 
 
 The storm blew off roofs and knocked down barns, trees and utility poles. 
 
 ``It's one huge storm, the size of a county,'' said Ryan Sandler, a National
 Weather Service meteorologist. He said the storm appeared to weaken as it
 moved southeast from the hardest-hit areas.   

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NWSFO CLEVELAND OHIO
1145 PM EDT WED JUN 24 1998
 
TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
 
0750 PM    TOLEDO                    OH   .75 INCH HAIL
06/24/98   LUCAS                          DIME SIZED HAIL REPORTED
                                          IN MAUMEE BAY
 
0828 PM    PORT CLINTON              OH   WIND DAMAGE
06/24/98   OTTAWA                         HIGH WINDS REPORTED WEST
                                          OF PORT CLINTON. NUMEROUS
                                          TREE LIMBS DOWN.
 
0900 PM    PORT CLINTON              OH   TORNADO
06/24/98   OTTAWA                         TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR
                                          DAVIS-BESSIE POWER PLANT
0902 PM    OAK HARBOR                OH   WIND DAMAGE
06/24/98   OTTAWA                         NUMEROUS TRAILERS ROLLED
                                          OVER BY HIGH WINDS
 
0906 PM    ROCKY RIDGE               OH   WIND DAMAGE
06/24/98   OTTAWA                         ROOFS OFF BARNS AND
                                          NUMEROUS TREES BLOWN DOWN.
 
0907 PM    OAK HARBOR                OH   WIND DAMAGE
06/24/98   OTTAWA                         TREES BLOWN DOWN
 
0923 PM    CRYSTAL ROCK              OH   .75 INCH HAIL
06/24/98   ERIE
 
0930 PM    CASTALIA                  OH   .75 INCH HAIL
06/24/98   ERIE
 
0932 PM    CLYDE                     OH   WIND DAMAGE
06/24/98   SANDUSKY                       NUMEROUS ROOFS OFF
                                          BUILDINGS AND TREES DOWN.
 
0943 PM    CLYDE                     OH   WIND DAMAGE
06/24/98   SANDUSKY                       ROOF OFF OF A HOUSE AND
                                          TREES DOWN NEAR CLYDE
 
1037 PM    SHILOH                    OH   .75 INCH HAIL
06/24/98   RICHLAND
 
 
1024 PM    ASHLAND                   OH   WIND DAMAGE            
06/24/98   ASHLAND                        2-3 TREES DOWN NORTHWEST 
                                          OF ASHLAND AND SOME 
                                          SHINGLES BLOWN OFF A ROOF. 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
525 PM EST THU JUNE 25 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS COMPLETED THE STORM SURVEY PERTAINING
TO THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT AFFECTED PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST AND
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO ON WEDNESDAY...JUNE 24.
 
AN AERIAL SURVEY WAS COMPLETED IN OTTAWA COUNTY WHERE THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED. A GROUND SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN SANDUSKY
AND ERIE COUNTIES.
 
CONCLUSIONS...
 
A F2 TORNADO...WINDS BETWEEN 113 AND 157 MPH...OCCURRED IN OTTAWA
COUNTY. THE TORNADO EITHER MOVED ONSHORE OR TOUCHED DOWN JUST WEST OF
THE DAVIS-BESSIE POWER PLANT BETWEEN 845PM AND 900 PM. THE TORNADO WAS
ABOUT 100 YARDS WIDE AND TRAVELED SOUTHEAST ABOUT 31/2MILES.
CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE WAS NOTED ALONG THIS PATH WITH SOME BARNS TOTALLY
DESTROYED AND AN APARTMENT COMPLEX HEAVILY DAMAGED. MOST OF THE DAMAGE
IN OTTAWA COUNTY WAS CAUSED BY A MACROBURST...STRAIGHT LINE
WINDS...BETWEEN 70 AND 80 MPH.
 
DOWNBURST...OR STRAIGHT LINE WINDS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGE
IN ERIE AND SANDUSKY COUNTIES. A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS OBSERVED BY A RESIDENT
IN WHITES LANDING JUST SOUTH OF SANDUSKY BAY...BUT IT DID NOT TOUCH
DOWN.