Dangerous Winds Could Hit 50 MPH In Northern Ohio: Forecast

CLEVELAND — Dangerous and powerful winds could wreak havoc on parts of northern Ohio on Saturday morning and early afternoon.

"Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result," the National Weather Service said.

A wind advisory was issued for Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain and Ashtabula counties on Saturday. The advisory will remain in place until at least 1 p.m.

Winds could hit 50 mph at point, but will consistently blow between 20 and 30 mph, according to forecasts. The most power and destructive wind gusts should occur closer to Lake Erie, the National Weather Service said.

Additional scattered snowshowers are possible Saturday, but little to no accumulation is expected. However, with powerful winds picking up already fallen snow and some flakes in the air, visibility could suddenly be reduced in squalls. Drivers should proceed through northern Ohio with caution if the winds pick up.

Some snow storms were moving southeast through Akron, Warren and Youngstown as of 7:45 a.m., the National Weather Service said on Twitter. The storms could drop as much as 1 to 3 inches of snow on those areas and with gusty winds, near whiteout conditions are possible.

As of 8 a.m., approximately 3,000 FirstEnergy customers were without power. In Cuyahoga County, 1,100 residents were in the dark on Saturday morning. There were also widespread outages in Lake County (760 outages) and Geauga County (550 outages).