MOUNT VERNON — Knox County issued a severe thunderstorm warning around noon on Saturday.
The short, but violent, thunderstorm resulted in downed trees, power outages and severe infrastructure damage.
What to know
Around 5 p.m. Saturday, AEP reported 7,487 customer outages across the Mount Vernon area. The estimated restoration time is 11 p.m.
Damage done
Reports on social media indicated downed trees throughout the county, including on Upper Fredericktown Road, Cassell Road and Mansfield Avenue.
Reports also indicate multiple traffic light outages, including the intersection of Harcourt Road and State Route 229.
The Howard Hanna office on Yauger Road lost its roof. Dave Culbertson, owner of the property, suspects the house won’t be salvageable, as the roof was critical in keeping the walls up.
“The walls aren’t supported by anything … the roof was holding it together,” Culbertson said.
The Yauger family originally built the house on their 175-acre sheep farm. The Culbertsons bought and restored the building in 2006 to be an office building.
“The front part was built in 1829,” Culbertson said while surveying the damage.
Nobody was in the building at the time of the storm. Culbertson is waiting on a structural engineer to make the final call.
High wind speeds also tore the roof off of Mount Vernon Buy Here Pay Here on Harcourt Road. Flying debris and white insulation spread across the parking lot, onto the cars and into the street.
Manager Tony Brillhart told Knox Pages that a roofing company was already on its way, and he had made an insurance claim on the damaged cars.
The used car dealership’s roof landed across the street at Sponsler CDJR.
Another severe thunderstorm watch was issued at 6:10 p.m.
Stay safe, Knox County.
