BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — A quick thunderstorm left behind lasting damage for Bowling Green residents. Trees were completely uprooted, a car crushed and power out.
Traces of Tuesday’s storm could be found scattered across Bowling Green. In some spots, it's easy to see the strength of the quick storm like on Prospect.
A house was severely damaged by a tree that fell into the panels.
"Those pictures didn't do it justice because when I drove by it felt pretty surreal," Elizabeth Reynolds-Zibbel said.
Reynolds-Zibbel's parents own the home, but are gone on vacation.
She said their reaction to the news was as expected, but even worse is how much they adored the tree that now sits on top of their home they got back in the 80's.
"I feel like the tree tried to miss most of the house,” Reynolds-Zibbel said. “It didn't hit any wires, but it is sad. It's sad because they loved the tree and now the tree kind of destroyed their house."
The Red Cross has set up a shelter for those who experienced damage from Tuesday’s storm. The temporary shelter is set up at Conneaut Elementary at 542 Haskins Road in Bowling Green. They will have snacks and bottled water in addition to the overnight accommodations.
The tree is scheduled to be removed Wednesday. The neighbors' house next door received no damage, but said they were grateful crews were ready to respond quickly.
“I’m glad that the fire personnel were here right away and were really helpful,” the next door neighbor Geoff Howes said.
Howes and his wife weren’t home when the tree fell, but they did get an alert about the downed lines and damage in their area from the brand-new emergency system.
"The new emergency system works well. They installed it just in time," said Christen Giblin, a BG resident.
Others in town said they were home when the storm rolled through.
"I heard crash, bang and then I went outside to look and our roof is flying off from the top of it onto cars," Jordan Stockwell, a Bowling Green resident, said.
His apartment was having work done on the roof before the storm hit.
Others said they were out for a walk when the weather changed.
"On the walk back it started raining,” said Rebecca Lowell alongside her boyfriend and dog. “Had Travis not of taken our dog off the leash and told me to run home with the dog it would have been my head and the dog’s life pretty much gone with the tree that fell."
Crews spent the afternoon and evening clearing debris, repairing downed power lines and cutting trees.
They restored power to Downtown Bowling Green, but are still working in several residential areas and more. More outages are expected throughout the night.
Bowling Green’s arborist Grant Jones said this is more damage than they typically see from a typical event of this nature.
"A lot of trees either have dropped branches or uprooted,” Jones said. “And the ones that uprooted I am going to guess that’s probably a factor of all of the rain that we've had this spring. Just the soils are looser and so they just aren't as stable."
While they don’t have exact numbers about how many are without power, how many trees fell or the cost of the damage, city leaders know it’s significant.
Mike Krueger came home from work to find his beloved 1954 Willys Jeep crushed by a large Silver Maple tree that was uprooted on West Washington.
"Heartbreaking,” Krueger described. “I've had this jeep for 25 years and I basically built it from the ground up."
As crews continue to work they ask for patience and your help to report any damage or downed lines to the city so they can address it. They also ask residents to avoid the work zones and to stay clear of the marked off areas.