Editor's note:

This story was updated to include information about power restoration from FirstEnergy.

More than 54,000 FirstEnergy customers, largely in Northeast Ohio and stretching from the Mansfield area northeastward to Youngstown and Mentor, were without power following overnight storms that traveled through the area early Saturday.

Summit County had nearly 36,000 customers without power as of 9 a.m. Saturday — in Akron, more than 14,600 homes were without power out of 93,508, or 16% of customers. The map boundaries were obscured by the high number of markers tracking each report. Many of the markers represented areas that had from 500 to 1500 customers with an outage.

The outages tracked the path of a strong storm cell that went through the area around 3 a.m., with a powerful cluster of lighting and rain that passed over Canal Fulton in Stark County as it headed northeast. About 70% of customers (2,223 of 3,188) there were still without power Saturday afternoon.

In Franklin Township, nearly 45% of customers still had power outage Saturday afternoon, with 1,717 of 3,782 waiting for restoration. In Fairlawn, 37% of customers still had no power at 2:45 p.m., with 1,592 of 4,292 out.

A FirstEnergy spokesperson said there were about 121,000 customers impacted by severe weather in Northeast Ohio overnight, with Summit and Stark Counties the hardest-hit areas.

Crews “worked quickly and safely to restore power to more than half of customers in the early hours of Saturday morning,” the spokesperson said via an email — they are still working to set estimated restoration times. Crews will continue to work to restore power to the remaining 52,000 customers. 

Customers can track the restoration effort by county and city at this link.

The forecast for the rest of Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, was for breezy conditions with a slight chance of thunderstorms.

What should you do if your power is out? 

First, check to see if the outage only affects you or if your neighbors’ power is out as well. 

Report the outage online, text “OUT” to 544487 (LIGHTS), or call 1-888-544-4877.

If you see a downed power line, call 911 immediately and avoid the area. 

Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed so food can stay insulated for as long as possible. Unplug all other appliances – including televisions and computers – to safeguard them and ease the initial load when your power returns.

During thunderstorm outages like Tuesday’s, do not take a shower or bath as the current from a lightning strike can travel through the water pipes. 

How can you prepare for future outages? 

Keeping a few things on hand for power outages can help you be more prepared and keep you safer:

  • Car charger to charge devices 
  • Flashlight(s)
  • Portable radio
  • Extra batteries
  • Extra blankets or sleeping bags
  • First-aid kit
  • Emergency supply of bottled water
  • Supply of food that does not require cooking

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.