Local streets flooded, closed due to heavy rains in the region
Traffic was diverted off Ohio Avenue due to high water Monday afternoon. (Photo by Maddie Harris)
Water pooled at City Park in Parkersburg Monday. (Photo by Jess Mancini)
A vehicle plows through water standing in a low spot of Washington Boulevard in Belpre Monday morning. A large thunderstorm dumped rain on the area to flood streets and other low areas. (Photo by Art Smith)
Traffic was diverted off Ohio Avenue due to high water Monday afternoon. (Photo by Maddie Harris)
Water pooled at City Park in Parkersburg Monday. (Photo by Jess Mancini)
A vehicle plows through water standing in a low spot of Washington Boulevard in Belpre Monday morning. A large thunderstorm dumped rain on the area to flood streets and other low areas. (Photo by Art Smith)
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PARKERSBURG -- Local streets were flooded and closed, traffic was diverted due to water and a tornado warning was issued during severe storms Monday in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard said roads were closed due to high water. Among affected areas were 36th Street and Core Road, Lake Washington Road in Lubeck and areas in Washington Bottom.
"It's the normal roads we always have problems with when it rains heavily," he said.
Woodyard reported three minor wrecks in the area.
The Parkersburg Police Department responded to flooding in the Traffic Circle Monday afternoon. It diverted traffic from Ohio Avenue to the Gabrielle's parking lot on Park Center Drive over to Garfield Avenue before rejoining at the Memorial Bridge intersection at Ohio Avenue.
The tornado warning was issued at 12:05 p.m. by the National Weather Service in Charleston, based on conditions meteorologists saw on the radar.
"On the radar, there was a storm with the potential for producing rotations of a tornado, so a warning was issued," Simone Lewis, meteorologist, said.
The warning was in place until 12:30 p.m. Lewis said the weather service did not receive reports of tornado sightings, however, it did get reports of flooding in the area.
The water also affected local schools. Wood County Schools Communications Coordinator Michael Erb said water from a marsh area reached the doors of the Jack Stephens Gym at Parkersburg High School. Water also came up to the doors at Blennerhassett Elementary School. No major damage has been reported.
Power outages were also reported. Hannah Catlett, spokeswoman for FirstEnergy Corp, said 2,000 outages were reported in Wood county with the majority of them being in Parkersburg.
Entertainment options also were affected. The Ritchie County Fair and Expo parade was canceled Monday because of the severe weather forecast.
"Right now, it's pouring the rain down," said Lily Law, a 4-H member at the West Virginia University Extension Office in Harrisville Monday afternoon. "It's been pretty windy, and it does not look good."
Evan Bevins and Douglass Huxley contributed to this report.