What is left of the barn at the Gary Jenkins property, west of Milford. (Photos by Keith Knepp and Deb Patterson)

MILFORD — A storm with straight line winds reaching 45 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour, with localized wet microbursts caused damage throughout the Milford and Syracuse areas. National Weather Service officials are stating localized wet microbursts could have contained up to 70 mile per hour winds. At this time they have no indications the damage was caused by any thing other than straight-line winds and microbusts

The storm swept through the area around 3:50 p.m. and according to a Syracuse Police Officer lasted just minutes before moving east.

East of Milford, a barn built in 1910 on the property owned by Gary and Tonya Jenkins, 1860 E. 1200N, Milford, was destroyed. Debris was strewn across the roadway and field. A metal barn door was blown in on the Alvin Waldbeser property southwest of the Jenkins home.

At the home of Larry Weaver Sr., CR 175E, just south of the Jenkins property, his yard is littered with trees and tree limbs. A NIPSCO pole across the road was still standing but cracked.

Numerous other trees were down in that area blocking travel.

On Beer Road tree limbs had fallen on the road heading out of town and a roof torn off a building at Carlton Beer farm. Just up the road, the roof was completely removed from a small brick building housing irrigation pumps. At the intersection of Beer Road and CR 175E, trees, limbs and power lines were down at the Ron and Betsy Knafel property.

Roads between Milford and Syracuse were littered with branches, limbs and even trees blocking travel. Wheat/rye in fields were flattened and power lines were down on Bowser Road at the Jeff Moore residence.

In Syracuse large trees were down on Bowser Road and on Harkless Road closing the area to traffic. Power was out to numerous customers south of Pickwick Road, including traffic lights on SR 13 at Pickwick and Bowser.

A tree fell on the home at 11729 N. SR 13, just south of Nash Drive, and the highway was littered with debris. NIPSCO crews were working to remove limbs and branches from power lines. Trees were seen uprooted or broken off.

Numerous other downed trees and damage occurred in the area.