Severe storms swept through central Ohio on Aug. 16, cutting power to more than 6,100 Franklin County customers and compounding a cleanup effort that was already days behind after the Aug. 11 derecho.

AEP Ohio reported 6,199 Franklin County customers without power as of 1:39 p.m. Sunday, the largest concentration of outages in the utility's service area, according to 10TV. Regionwide, more than 10,000 AEP Ohio customers lost service. South Central Power reported an additional 143 Franklin County customers without power.

By 2:30 p.m., AEP Ohio's total outages had climbed past 15,600 across its territory, though Franklin County's count had dropped to roughly 4,600 as crews restored service, NBC4 reported. The utility estimated Franklin County customers would have power back by Sunday evening.

The Aug. 16 storms arrived while Hilliard city crews were still chipping tree limbs and hauling debris from the derecho, which packed 82-mph winds and toppled trees at Britton Elementary and along Cemetery Road. As of Aug. 14, crews had finished the Blue Zone and moved into the Purple Zone, including the Britton Farms and Carrington Place neighborhoods, according to the city's storm-response page. Crews were set to resume Monday morning.

It is not yet clear how the new damage will affect that schedule. As of Sunday afternoon, neither Director of Community Relations Andrea Litchfield nor City Manager Joshua Rauch had posted a city response to the Aug. 16 storm.

As we reported Aug. 14, the National Weather Service confirmed the Aug. 11 system produced an EF-1 tornado in south Columbus. AEP Ohio said it had restored power to more than 200,000 customers since that derecho, underscoring how much of the grid was still being rebuilt when Sunday's storms hit.

A tornado warning was issued around 11 p.m. Aug. 15, lasting about 30 minutes ahead of Sunday's system.

The timing raises questions for Hilliard families: Hilliard City Schools is scheduled to start the 2026-27 school year Aug. 19, with meet-the-teacher events set for Aug. 17. As of Sunday afternoon, the district had not posted any update about whether the storm affects those plans. In Columbus, Mayor Andrew Ginther said 30 Columbus City Schools buildings lost power at one point. Columbus City Schools Superintendent Angela Chapman said Sunday her district still expects to open Aug. 20.

"The priority was definitely trying to open roads up and make sure vehicles were able to kind of get through through the different arterials," Hilliard Public Service Director Kyle Hoyng said on Aug. 12, describing the city's approach after the derecho.

Whether that same playbook is needed again depends on how much new damage the Aug. 16 storms caused. Residents with non-emergency storm issues can call the city at 614-876-7321; emergencies should go to 911. Franklin County Emergency Management is asking residents with storm damage to submit a report.