COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Many areas of Central Ohio are beginning the process of assessing damage caused by storms that moved through the area overnight.  

In Hocking County, residents near Laurelville say shortly after 1am they heard the wind pick up and then very clearly saw the outline of a tornado during flashes of lightning.

David Winland says he caught a glimpse of it from an upstairs bedroom window. “It looked like it was coming right at us and then I could really hear it coming and i just started yelling to everyone to just get down in the basement.”

Winland says the tornado passed over his home in a matter of seconds. He lost a garage, a barn and parts of his house in a matter of seconds.

There’s a mountain of work to do, to rebuild and replace but Winland says just having survived puts it all in perspective. “I still have my family – that’s the main thing.” 

Send us your photos of storm damage from Monday night

Kyle McClain says he saw the tornado from his back porch. “I was scared,” McClain said. “I mean I don’t care who you are – that’s scary”

“It dead-centered on my house. I grabbed my wife and baby and we dove underneath the stairs and…my house literally fell down around me, my wife and my 10-month-old.”

McClain’s pole barn style home was heavily damaged. Dozens of trees on his farm were snapped into pieces, windows were broken, vehicles were tossed around and damaged.

According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, U.S. 23 southbound is closed between Venture Road and Thompson Road  near Circleville due to downed power lines. This is in the same area where two overturned semis were reported.