Storms rough up Butler County

By Chris Vogt
Lindenwald Ledger
Senior Writer
Thursday, June 5, 2008

BUTLER COUNTY — Nearly 3,000 Butler County homes were still left without power Thursday afternoon, said Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Bill Turner.

Despite threatening weather dishing out a dose on Tuesday night and Wednesday night, Turner said the county was fortunate.

“We dodged a bullet,” Turner said. “There were a lot of trees down and debris, but no major damage. (The damage) was scattered around the area. … With all this said, we are very lucky.”

There were no reports of serious injury, and power should be fully restored by Friday.

According to Turner, the National Weather Service is expected to make the final decision on two possible funnel cloud sightings — one in Riley Township and another in Trenton — following a tornado warning that was issued for Butler County just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

“It’s their call to make a decision of whether or not one touched,” Turner said. “There was a lot of discussion what is considered a tornado. Is it a dark cloud? Is it rotating or not? Did it touch the ground or not?

“We had a lot of calls from different communities claiming that they saw a funnel cloud,” he added. “But all in all, the county is resilient. Everyone is getting what damage there is taken care of. They’re commended for their tolerance and the struggles (the weather) caused."

Contact this reporter at or by phone at (513) 258-3263.