Although hundreds of miles away from Hurricane Ike's mainland strike in Galveston, Texas, the state of Ohio also suffered the wrath of the storm. Hurricane-force winds ripped through much of the state, causing power outages in many communities. The storm also sparked several fires across the state.

Dozens of schools and daycares in northeast Ohio were also closed Monday due to a lack of power and damages sustained from the storm.

More than 1.5 million customers across the state were without power on Sunday. 310,000 Ohio Edison customers in northeast Ohio experienced power outages due to the storm's high winds. Restoring power to all customers may take several days, and up to a week in some of the hardest hit areas.

Wind gusts up to 78mph ripped roofs from buildings, and blocked roadwards across the state. According to the National Weather Service, southwest and central Ohio bore the brunt of the storm's force.

Meteorologist Myron Padgett at the NWS in Wilmington said, "What we experienced was a hurricane-force wind gust.