Staff report

The Mahoning Valley was under a tornado watch Thursday evening as strong winds, hail and heavy downpours lasted several hours in parts of Trumbull and Mahoning counties.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland issued a tornado watch for both counties from 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday.

The NWS reported severe weather was to last through the night

FirstEnergy reported more than 1,000 customers in Mahoning County were without power with Campbell having the most. In Trumbull County, power outages were reported in the Brookfield area.

Power was expected to be restored late Thursday.

A Trumbull 911 spokeswoman said they received no calls late Thursday of any major damage following the storm which passed through several parts of the northeastern parts of the county.

Earlier in the day before the storms hit the area but winds were beginning to get stronger, residents of Templeton Road near Route 422 in Warren Township reported an electric transformer in the area caught fire and caused a power outage.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol and Warren Township safety forces were called to the area because of downed power lines on the road.