The NWS reported that several people called to report seeing the brief touchdown. The center also received several pictures of the touchdown and swift-moving, swirling funnel clouds.
The Cleveland center reported that the potentially dangerous storm moved along an east-northeast path.
A half-dozen trees and several power lines went down along state Route 7 near Hartford, Trumbull County 911 reported.
In Mercer County, two storm-related calls were reported to the 911 dispatch center. The first call at about 8:30 p.m. was for a tree that was hit by lightning and caught fire in Hempfield Township and the second was for a downed tree over Dutch Lane in Hermitage, according to the 911 center.
No one was injured and neither Mercer nor Trumbull county authorities had any reports of property damage by mid-evening.
But the ominous skies moving into Mercer County around 7 p.m., along with tornado warnings, had residents taking cover.
Shortly after 8 p.m. shoppers at the Hempfield Wal-Mart reportedly were ushered to the back of the store for shelter.
Meanwhile in Sharon, Bob Fiscus, fire chief and city manager, corralled about 30 people – including city council members – into the basement of the municipal building about halfway into council’s workshop session and sounded the city’s weather siren.
After trying to ride out the storm, Fiscus permitted council members to grab their belongings and conduct the rest of their business downstairs, just as a second tornado warning came across several cellphones.
Full articles and pictures here: http://www.sharonherald.com/news/funnel-clouds-swirl/article_7b5c7618-ee75-5eb1-88f9-9454d74265ff.html