Library Damaged By Leaking Roof - Winter Cold Damages Early Spring Flowers
The library was not a quiet place Tuesday as it worked to dry out sections damaged by weekend storms that forced it to close Monday.
More than a dozen high-velocity fans sat in the main hallway and lined the returned book sorting and circulation staff offices, while the “New Book Nook” was enclosed with temporary barriers and plastic sheeting to contain the damaged area and direct airflow where it was needed most. Water had accumulated overnight, from Sunday into Monday, in those spaces, according to Tamara Murray, the library’s marketing manager. No other areas in the library were damaged by the water.
No books were lost, Murray said, though some items were temporarily moved while a cleanup crew worked to dry the affected spaces. Repairs will be scheduled after the damage is assessed.
The leak came from a section of the roof built in 1980 that is scheduled for replacement this summer as Phase 2 of the library’s four-phase roofing project. Phase 1 was completed in 2023, and the damaged section has been secured and stabilized until the planned replacement.
Winter Wasn’t Ready to Leave
A return to freezing temperatures damaged early blossoms across Westerville after weeks of mild weather following a late January snowstorm and last weekend’s damaging windstorm.
The milder pattern, which developed after the late January storms, brought an early hint of spring to the city. Following weeks of warmer days and mid-70s temperatures, flowering trees began to bloom, only for that progress to be halted by the subsequent overnight freeze.
By morning, the effects were clear on trees across the city. Blossoms that opened during the warm spell had browned, curled, and wilted in the cold.
The freeze marked another change in a season of snow, damaging winds, and wide temperature swings. For early-blooming trees, the return of freezing weather cut short the apparent start of spring.
The damaged blossoms remind us that in central Ohio, winter can return even after extended mild weather.
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