DAYTON, Ohio — Damage assessment continues for Ohioans following Wednesday morning’s severe weather.

What You Need To Know

  • The worst damage from Wednesday's storms at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was to some historic hangars used by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

  • The museum uses the World War II-era hangars for artifact storage and restoration 

  • Other damage to the base included downed power lines and minor building damage

At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, strong winds downed power lines and damaged some buildings. A hangar built at the beginning of World War II was the hardest hit.

“It’s a historic hangar, so restoration will be more challenging,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Travis Pond, 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander. “Most of the other facilities that sustained damage is pretty minor, so we expect within a few weeks we’ll have those repaired. I don’t know exactly what that’s going to cost.”

An official with the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force said the historic hangars are used by the museum to restore aircraft before display in exhibits. The hangar with the most damage was used primarily for storage, but the museum’s director said the storm left artifacts inside relatively untouched.

“Right now, there’s about six aircraft in there and one missile system,” said David Tillotson, director of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. “There’s a wing that belongs to a B-17 that belongs to the Smithsonian. And just in case they’re watching this, that wing appears undamaged. So, they’ll be pleased to know.”

Tillotson said pieces of aircraft outside the hangar were used for parts and waiting for disposal before the storm struck, so any damage was no loss to the Air Force.

The museum opened for its regular operating hours Wednesday.

No injuries were reported at the base  from the storm.