Providence Avenue and Marinette Drive in Northern Estates saw the most damage.
Bill Dillman of 1601 Marinette Drive was asleep when the window above his bed opened suddenly and the curtains were sucked out about 6:30 a.m.
“I didn’t have any idea what was going on, if the roof was caving in or what,” said Dillman, who has lived at the residence for 30 years. It all happened quickly then became quiet again.”
Along with the window, there was extensive damage to the siding on the home’s east side and to the spouting on its south. Fortunately, he was able to get a restoration crew in quickly.
Just down the street, his neighbors surveyed damage and were on the phone with insurance companies while tree services had full crews out in force.
Dillman said he was told it looked like a strip that just moved down the street causing damage. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen weather-related problems as a previous storm three or four years ago also brought down numerous limbs.
Portable basketball hoops and trampolines were also damaged.
Two streets over, the only evidence of the weather was a few leaves and minor branches strewn around.
Forest Miller, a resident of Glenco Estates, rose early as he always does to feed cats outside and was unsettled by the weather.
“It was a weird sound. I couldn’t describe what it sounded like,” he said.
Soon after, a frame in his neighbors’ backyard fell. Although he admitted to being scared, Miller proceeded to check on another neighbor’s well-being as he does most mornings despite the winds still blowing furiously.
Many homes still remained without power through Saturday afternoon.
Near South Charleston, Steve Gladman, who lives in the 5700 block of Platsburg Road, said he heard the storm move in during the pre-dawn hours and heard something hit the house. When he walked outside at daybreak, a large tree was down across his driveway and a recently bought outbuilding being used to store lawnmowers and power equipment was in splinters.
“I looked in the back and there was a pile of rubble back there. I looked a little closer and realized that was my new building,” Gladman said.
The damage to the building has to stay put until his insurance company comes out to assess the damages, which isn’t expected to happen until Tuesday, according to the homeowner.
The storms knocked out power to more than 20,000 DP&L customers. All but about 600 had been restored as of Saturday morning, according to a DP&L spokesperson.
In Clark County, 451 First Energy customers remained without power later in the day.
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