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Another Round... and Viewer Storm Photos

Another round of thunderstorms is heading for the Miami Valley. This cluster will mainly affect the Southern viewing area... along and south of I-70. It will be reaching the extreme western viewing area... Wayne County, IN before 6:30... and should be completely OUT of the viewing area by 9pm. As it comes through, expect tremendous lightning, and very heavy rain. It also has the potential to bring winds in excess of 60 mph... and nickel-sized hail. We will keep you posted of any warnings on Channel 2. Most of the viewing area is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 11pm.



Here are some viewer photos from the storms last night. As well as some pictures of what exactly went down here at Channel 2 when we got hit by lightning! :)




This first photo is from Travis Terry of Centerville. It looks like a funnel cloud may be trying to form.







A very cool lightning picture sent in by John Parmley of Miamisburg. There was a LOT of lightning with these storms!!






We also had some very heavy rainfall. Keith & Janet Buckmaster of Springfield sent in the picture above... they received 3 3/4 inches as of 8am... and it was still raining!










There were also numerous wind damage reports. One came from one of our Middletown Weathercheckers, Jim Allen. He had tree damage from the storms overnight. A Bradford tree fell on the west end of his house.











Our photographer, Paul Rodzinka, took this picture with his video camera. We were able to freeze it to illustrate the lightning show!

Now for some photos of what happened here at Channel 2 last night. We were hit by lightning... and every computer in the building went down. Lights were flickering on and off... we heard popping sounds... and saw sparks. Several computers and lights were actually smoking... so the Moraine Fire Department came out to inspect the building, and to make sure everything was safe. Jeff Brown, who works in our Art Department captured the night:




The Moraine Firefighters arrive!










Carl spotted some lights under the news desk smoking! Here the firefighters are inspecting it.








We are all crowded by the back door, which was propped open. We needed some fresh air!










Hutch is MUCH heavier than Claire!











And the night wouldn't be complete if Jack didn't have a little fun along the way!


All in all, it was a strange night... but everyone is ok. Our engineers are AMAZING, and got us back up and running overnight. Today, many day-side workers came in and didn't even realize we had a power outage last night! Amazing!


Jamie

Heavy Rain

We've had some very heavy rainfall with the thunderstorms overnight, and now many are dealing with flooding problems.

We have numerous flash flood warnings in effect... and reports of high water and water in basements across the Miami Valley.

Doppler radar estimates that 2 to 4 inches of rain had fallen across portions of the viewing area. Some local locations received close to 5 inches! Runoff from this excessive rainfall is causing flash flooding. Some locations that may experience flooding include... Dayton... Eaton... Englewood... Huber Heights... Kettering... Miamisburg... Moraine and Northridge. Here is the Doppler estimated rainfall:




Heavy rains flood roads and low lying areas rapidly. Do not driveyour vehicle into water of an unknown depth on the the Road. It only takes two feet of rushing water to carry away most sport utilityvehicles and pickups. Take a different route to reach your destination or wait until the water recedes. Remember... most flood-related deaths occur in automobiles. Never drive your vehicle intoareas where the water covers the roadway. Flood waters are usually deeper than they appear. When encountering floodedroads make the smart choice... turn around... don't drown.


Storm reports are numerous for our area, as well. Below is a snapshot...