The National Weather Service says two tornadoes and high winds were responsible for causing damage and knocking out power to parts of Columbiana County late Wednesday.

More than 9,000 homes and businesses were left in the dark after two EF0 tornadoes swept through the Leetonia/Washingtonville area and Hanoverton.

An EF0 is the weakest tornado on the Enhanced Fujita classification scale with wind speeds of about 75 miles per hour. No injuries or fatalities were reported from either tornado.

According to the Weather Service in Pittsburgh, a tornado touched down 2 miles southeast of Hanoverton at 9:11 pm Wednesday and swept an intermittent two-and-a-half-mile path as wide as 150 yards to a point 4 miles east northeast of Hanoverton.

The damage began in relatively open terrain southeast of Hanoverton and continued to near Richey School Road and Route 30 northeast of Hanoverton.

The most concentrated area of damage was along Lindesmith Road, where the tornado’s winds snapped and uprooted trees at a farm. 

Sheet metal roofing from a barn was also removed, and two 3000-pound hay wagons were moved.

About twelve minutes after the first tornado a second tornado touched down in Leetonia and moved along for less than a mile to Washingtonville.  It’s estimated that the tornado’s maximum width of damage was about 75 yards.

According to the weather service, damage began just north of the Leetonia High School and was most concentrated along Leetonia Road, where several trees were snapped or uprooted.

The tornado’s circulation weakened as it moved northeast, with tree damage continuing to the Mahoning County line, where debris abruptly ended.

Although there was damage in Salem Township, the weather service said they can’t prove it was caused by a tornado.

The weather service says the most extreme damage in Columbiana County was not caused by tornadoes, but high winds.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m. winds of up to 80 miles per hour caused an 11-mile area of damage in Rogers, East Palestine, and the SNPJ Borough across the state line

Investigators found several trees uprooted or destroyed accompanied by shingle and other exterior damage at several homes.

 A tree was blown onto an occupied vehicle east of Rogers before the wind speed increased.

Elsewhere along the path, roofs were damaged on several buildings, including a barn in Lawrence County, where a portion of the roof was blown off. Falling trees damaged utility poles and power lines.

The damage was concentrated in several areas, including the western and northern sections of East Palestine, the area near Howell Road/Route 14 area, and areas adjacent to the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Little Beaver and North Beaver Townships of Lawrence County, PA.

Although the weather service could not confirm that a tornado caused the later damage, investigators say it was comparable to the damage caused by many tornadoes.

At its peak over the 11-mile swath, the damage was consistent with wind speeds of up to 80 mph at times.