This week’s record high temperatures gave way to some incredibly powerful thunderstorms in the area late yesterday afternoon and evening. The storms were part of a line that extended across the state and prompted several tornado warnings in the State. Sirens in Harris, in Anderson County, went off after spotters and radar indicated rotation west of Harris.
Numerous trees were knocked down by the winds in the Ottawa area, causing some scattered power outages. The traffic light at Third and Main was blown off the pole and numerous calls around the County of storm damage, including heavy damage to a house and property just west of Ottawa. No official report in on that as yet.
There were several weather records set yesterday. The record high for December at 75. Only five other times has the temperature reached the 70’s in December: 2012, 2001, 1956, 1939, and 1921. Also, the highest wind gust for the Winter Season was set. At the Ottawa Municipal Airport, a gust of 59 MPH was recorded at 5:35 yesterday afternoon.
If you experienced any storm damage, let us know here at KOFO and we’ll get the word out.
