The severe weather that hit the region on Sunday did a number on the roof at Newport Plaza.
Both Kenton and Campbell Counties were placed under a tornado warning just after 6 p.m. as a strong system blew in from the west where multiple tornadoes claimed at least five lives in Illinois.
Sirens activated on both sides of the Ohio River and for roughly five minutes between 6:30 and 7 p.m., the wind became quite strong. And then it was gone.
Thousands in Northern Kentucky were left without power, but it was being restored to most areas as of 9 p.m. Traffic lights were out in parts of Latonia and houses were dark along Taylor Mill Road through Taylor Mil and Independence.
Reports started to come in on Twitter that the roof collapsed at Rio Grande, the Mexican restaurant in Newport. The River City News arrived at the scene to scope the damage that was mostly relegated to the front facade portion of the roof above multiple Newport Plaza buildings, including Rio Grande.
The restaurant suffered some minor interior damage as well. Emergency crews blocked off access to the building and were unsure as of this writing whether the affected businesses would reopen Monday. Rio Grande was open at the time and had multiple customers inside but no injuries were reported.
Strong winds also knocked over the newly erected Christmas tree in Covington’s Mainstrasse Village.
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