Northwest Ohio appears to have been spared damage from severe weather Thursday that included several tornado watches and warnings, officials said today.

Despite the numerous reports of funnel clouds in Lucas County, Ottawa County, and northern Wood County - including some reports of tornadoes on the ground - there was no significant damage reported, according to the counties’ respective emergency management agencies. A National Weather Service service crew was on stand-by in Cleveland today, ready to go to assess damage and see if they confirm any of the reports but did not go, according to Gary Garnet, a NWS meteorologist. 

A tornado was reported by witnesses on the ground along State Rt. 795 in Lake Township before 8:30 p.m. and then near Dunbridge and Reitz roads. There were no reports of injury or property damage. Wood County sheriff’s deputies reported utility poles were down along State Rt. 199 near Lime City Road.

In Ottawa County, where spotters reported a tornado on the ground in the Genoa area about 8:40 p.m., sheriff’s deputies reported no damage or injury.

The National Weather Service received reports of hail throughout the area — from 0.75-inch diameter hailstones near Whitehouse to 1.5-inch diameter hailstones south of Perrysburg.

Funnel clouds were also reported to the weather service about 8:15 p.m. near Maumee and, in Wood County, near Walbridge.

Area residents reported seeing funnel clouds about 4:53 p.m. between the villages of Van Buren in Hancock County and North Baltimore in Wood County, said a Hancock County sheriff’s dispatcher. A funnel cloud was also reported about 5:24 p.m. east of Fostoria, a Fostoria police dispatcher said.

Martin Thompson, a hydrometeorologic technician with the National Weather Service in Cleveland said reports showed none of the funnels touched down.

Weather forecasters have said a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located about 5 miles northwest of Fostoria and moved east at 45 mph. The weather service also reported 60 mph wind gusts and nickel-sized hail in that area.

As the storm moved east, authorities issued various tornado warnings through the evening for Lucas, Wood, Ottawa, Hancock, and Sandusky counties in Ohio and Lenawee County in Michigan.

Mark Durbin, a First Energy spokesman, said about 1,500 utility customers lost power in the area because of downed lines from late morning to early evening Thursday, with outages “widely scattered.” Utility crews restored power to all affected customers early Thursday night, he said.

Staff writers Ryan Dunn and Lauren Lindstrom contributed to this report.

Contact Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.

First Published April 10, 2015, 4:00 a.m.