By LISA NICELY
nicely@crescent-news.com
At least one tornado is believed to have touched down in Defiance County on Sunday, bringing with it strong winds that damaged homes and other property.
No injuries were reported, according to the Defiance County Sheriff's Office.
"We have reports from spotters and emergency management in Defiance County so there probably was at least one tornado," B.J. Simpson of the National Weather Service (NWS) said Sunday. "We or the EMA will be in the area (today) to confirm it."
Reports of funnel clouds in the area began around 6 p.m., according to the NWS. The agency will try to determine the speeds the wind reached and how fast the system went through the area while in Sherwood this morning.
Julie Rittenhouse, Defiance County Emergency Management Agency director, said that she will be meeting with NWS personnel today to confirm the damage.
"We have about three or four homes (and several outbuildings) that have been affected," she said. "The Red Cross stopped out at the homes to make sure people had everything they needed. The one family that was hit the hardest had an alternate place to stay. The other family that got hit was going to stay at in-laws."
The Defiance County Chapter of the American Red Cross assisted a family whose home at 11415 Ohio 18, Sherwood, sustained damage.
Rittenhouse said most of the damage in the Sherwood area occurred from Ohio 18 to Mudcreek Road. She said the first report of a funnel cloud was at Jericho Road and U.S. 127.
There were unconfirmed reports of tornados two miles south of Mark Center and five miles west of Sherwood. The Ney-Washington Township Fire Department also reported a tornado at The Bend and Motter roads.
"There were two separate circulations that went through the area," said Simpson.
Several homes and buildings in the Sherwood area sustained damage.
One of the homes heavily damaged was that of Steve and Laurie Bergman on Ohio 18.
"We got in the basement as soon as everything landed in the back yard," said Steve Bergman. "I was in the front room when it hit. It was raining, then suddenly it hit."
The storm ripped the roof off their house, destroyed a garden shed, uprooted trees and caused other damage.
"It was scary," said daughter Brittany Bergman, who added that the roof was blown completely off her brother's bedroom.
As they were surveying the damage, Laurie Bergman arrived home.
"I was at work and got a call that my home was hit," she said, after hugging her husband and children.
Down Openlander Road, family and friends were helping clean up a home where windows were broken out, trees were toppled and a barn was damaged. No one was home at the time when the storm hit.
Damage was seen throughout the area. Power lines were toppled along Williams Center-Cecil Road. There were also reports of a barn and trees damaged at Buckskin Road and U.S. 127.
Neva McCague of Hicksville was returning home from Defiance with her husband and his children when the storm rolled through.
"We were going toward Hicksville on Ohio 18. My husband had said, 'Look, there's a funnel cloud,' " she said. "We were looking at the funnel cloud. It looked like the cloud had a tail on it. It wasn't twisting at all. Then suddenly it started to rotate. It looked like it was going to come down, but then it went back up."
A funnel cloud was reported in the Cecil area as well.
"The funnel cloud was spotted near Roads 230 and 89," said Randy Shaffer, executive director of the Paulding County Emergency Management Agency. "It came down and went right back up. That's the same one that I believed crossed into Defiance County. I haven't found any damage in our county."
Tornado warnings were issued for Defiance, Paulding and Henry counties.