Approximately 1,300 Lawrence Countians were without power this morning as American Electric Power crews worked to restore it after strong storms ripped through the area last night.

AEP spokesman Ronn Robinson said customers in the Coal Grove and Hecla areas were primarily affected by outages. As of 10 a.m. this morning, power was restored to most homes.

The National Weather Service In Charleston, West Virginia issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Lawrence County at 9:35 p.m. It was effective until 10:15 p.m. Neighboring Scioto County and areas east of Scioto County were under a tornado watch for several hours.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Tom Mazza said damaging winds and dime-sized hail were reported in the area late last night.

The weather is expected to dry out and cool off until Thursday evening, when another weather system moves through the area, bringing rain with it.

In northern Ohio, at least four people were reported dead -- two each in Van Wert and Putnam counties -- after a series of tornados hit that area.