Putnam County avoids major storm damage

Saturday, November 19, 2016

The drop in temperature was huge and the rapid change made for an intense storm Friday evening.

But the local effects of the storm that rolled through Putnam County and most of the state were minimal.

At the height of the storm, between 5:10 and 5:40 p.m., a number of reports of weather-related mishaps came to Putnam County 911 dispatch, including trees or branches down on East Washington Street in Greencastle, U.S. 231 on Waterworks Hill, Sherwood Drive and Albin Pond Road and West Walnut Street and County Road 850 East.

There was also a report of a tree falling and damaging a house and vehicle on Wildwood Drive in Edgelea Subdivision.

Dispatchers reported the evening was not too bad compared to what could have been, with the events also included a pair of slideoffs on U.S. 231, one in the Fincastle area and the other near Morton Buildings in Warren Township.

Local emergency responders also dealt with calls of power lines down, including reports from Washington and Marion townships.

While the damage was not too bad in the end, Friday was still a day of weather extremes.

The National Weather Service at Indianapolis reported a high of 73 degrees on Friday, with overnight lows expected to reach 36.

Contrast that nice Indian Summer sort of Friday with Saturday’s forecast: Cloudy with gusty winds of 20-30 mph and occasional gusts over 40 mph.

A high of 41 is expected but it’s likely to feel much colder.

Overnight the wind will settle down, but a low of 25 is expected.

Looking further into the week, temperatures will rebound slightly, but remain more season for mid- to late-November than they had been in recent days.

In the end, Friday’s rapid temperature drop brought with it a short, intense storm with high winds and heavy rainfall but, so far, little in the way of major damage.

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