DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Fifteen years ago, the wrath of Hurricane Ike struck the Miami Valley and caused lasting damages for days.

For many living in the Dayton area on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008, it is a day people will remember for the rest of their lives. Across the area, strong wind gusts blew across the area, causing havoc. Trees and power lines fell onto homes, vehicles and roads, causing damage.

Many residents lost power, some for just about two weeks.

Timeline of Ike

At the end of August, Ike moved off the west coast of Africa as a tropical disturbance and made its way towards the Puerto Rico as a tropical depression on Sept. 1.

“Moving west-northwest, Ike strengthened into a hurricane on the afternoon of September 3rd, and was located approximately 885 miles east-northeast of Puerto Rico,” NWS said.

At 8 p.m. on Sept. 3, 2008, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida classified Hurricane Ike as a Category 3 just before it hit the Turks and Caicos Islands on Saturday, Sept. 6. By Sunday, Sept. 7, Ike was classified as a Category 4 hurricane.

Hurricane Ike later made landfall near Galveston, Texas as a Category 2 hurricane on Saturday, Sept. 13. After making landfall, Ike moved to the north and east, where it eventually became an “extratropical storm system.” The remnants of Ike hit the Miami Valley on Sunday, Sept. 14.

By Sept. 15, Ike had moved further north and into Canada, which brought the country significant rainfall.

Major Impact in the Miami Valley

Many people in the Miami Valley were blindsided when the remnants of Ike hit Dayton.

On the morning of Sept. 14, many cities across the area experienced low temperatures in the mid to upper 30s. The Versailles-Darke County Airport reached 36 degrees, while Springfield and Springboro reached 39 degrees.

A NWS spotter in Shelby County reported to weather organization that frost had been spotted on some rooftops.

In some parts of the area, wind gusts reached close to 80 mph. From Sept. 10 to 17, 2008, a wind advisory and a high wind warning were issued by the NWS.

** The video in the player above shows windy conditions during Hurricane Ike. **

In NWS Wilmington’s coverage area spanning from Ripley County, Indiana to central Ohio, at least five people died, while numerous individuals were reported as sustaining injuries.

A map created by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Wilmington shows a confirmed case of a Thunderstorm Wind Damage. Numerous confirmed Non-Thunderstorm Wind Gusts and Non-Thunderstorm Wind Damages are also displayed on the map.

AES Ohio Responds

2 NEWS reached out to AES Ohio about how they have are preparing to respond in potential future situations like what happened in 2008.

AES Ohio Director of Corporate Communications Mary Ann Kabel says with electrical crews having experienced the derechos in 2011 and 2012, along with the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes, professionals have been able to learn what it takes to get power restored quickly and effectively.

The electrical company is continuing to upgrade the infrastructure to try and lessen any effects from another potential future storm. Kabel says when crews got the chance to be out in the different communities, they have learned what pieces of infrastructure need to be replaced.

Smart meters are still being installed across homes, since it is a key tool on quickly identifying which neighborhoods are without power. Once the company identifies an outage by the smart meter, crews are sent out to restore electricity as quickly as possible, according to Kabel.

All AES Ohio crews have storm meetings throughout the process of restoring power. At the conclusion of the storm, officials conduct a debriefing session on what happened and the steps taken to have power restored.

Resident Reaction – Sept. 13, 2009

** The video in the player above shows coverage 1 year after Hurricane Ike. **

Area residents described their experiences on social media just less than a year after Ike rolled through.

“Watching big trees in back yard bend to ground, without power for five days & often sitting in car charging cell phone to stay in touch with my employer, a high school, taking calls from teachers & praying for “schools closed” phone call,” a local Facebook user said.

“I lived in Spfld @ the time and was @ work. On the way home, I saw a Home Depot sign had been blown down and there were lots of trees down,” another Facebook user said.

“We had returned from southern Florida the night before and had dealt with Ike’s winds & worried about evacuation the whole trip. We came home & Ike followed us,” said another user.