Power out for three hours after storm
Final update at 10:45 p.m. Monday
A strong thunderstorm with high winds and torrential rain slammed across Marion County shortly after 7 p.m. Monday.
Power to the region failed at 7:13 p.m. and was restored around 10:30 p.m. According to Westar, customers from approximately Canada, five miles west of Marion, to US-77 east of Marion, from US-56 to south of Aulne, were without power, as were some customers in Durham. Westar reported that 330 rural customers were affected along with City of Marion customers.
Numerous tree limbs were felled in Marion as the storm raced through town. Marion and Hillsboro firefighters also to responded to a fire, possibly caused by lightning, that may have been threatening oil storage tanks northwest of Marion Reservoir. A self-storage business near the reservoir appears to have sustained significant damage in the storm.
Among those helping clear debris blocking Marion streets was Mayor Todd Heitschmidt, who took a chainsaw to a tree blocking Locust St. a block from his home.
Reliable data on wind speeds were not available because all weather stations in the immediate area went down with the power failure shortly before the brunt of the storm hit. Radar indicated speeds exceeding 60 mph, and a remote weather station in Durham, which according to radar just avoided the center of the storm, reported a peak gust of 55 mph and peak sustained winds of 46 mph.
Land-line telephone service for the most part was unaffected, but some cable Internet service appears to have been interrupted.
More in this week's Marion County Record
Last modified Sept. 8, 2015