Storms left 5K without power in Greater Cincinnati, closed I-75, Columbia Parkway

Cincinnati Enquirer

Traffic signals were out on Mitchell Avenue at Interstate 75 after thunderstorms hit the Greater Cincinnati area Tuesday.

Thousands were without power after heavy storms tore through Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky throughout the day on Tuesday.

As of 10 p.m., all warnings and watches had been lifted or expired, according to the National Weather Service at Wilmington. A flood advisory remained in effect until 11:45 p.m. in Dearborn and Ripley counties in Indiana, parts of Hamilton, Butler and Warren counties in Ohio, and parts of Boone County in Kentucky.

According to the utility’s outage maps, just under 5,000 Duke Energy customers in Ohio were without power after the storm. That number was down to 2,000 at 11:30 p.m.

Cincinnati storms:Severe storm warnings and tornado watches lifted in Cincinnati area as storms move east

Nearly 550 customers had lost power on the east side of Burlington, Kentucky after severe weather passed through portions of Northern Kentucky including Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. The tornado warning expired at 6:45 p.m.

Areas with most reported power outages include:

Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Village neighborhood, where 2,387 customers were without power at 9:45 p.m.
Monroe area near I-75, where 759 customers were without power.
Cincinnati-Dayton Road just north of I-75 in West Chester Township, where 834 customers lost power.

Severe thunderstorm warnings had been issued in Hamilton and surrounding counties, which expired at 6:30 p.m. A tornado warning was issued in portions of Northern Kentucky including Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, which expired at 6:45 p.m.

Forecasters say a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was spotted over Rising Sun moving east at 60 mph.

Cincinnati closed portions of I-75, Columbia Parkway

Interstate 75 was closed at Ohio 129 just east of Monroe as crews worked to pick up utility poles blown over by high winds, Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said Tuesday night.

Those downed transmission and distribution lines were to blame for the outages in the Monroe area just west of I-75.

A portion of West Chester Lesourdesville Road in West Chester Township was also closed due to downed power lines and high water, according to township spokesperson Barbara Wilson.

Columbia Parkway in Columbia-Tusculum was closed Tuesday evening due to flooding, but has since reopened, a Cincinnati police District 2 desk officer said.