National Weather Service confirms 8 separate tornadoes touched down Feb. 28
The National Weather Service office in Wilmington has confirmed eight tornadoes that occurred across the region last week.
Severe thunderstorms moved into the region during the early morning hours of Wednesday, Feb. 28. With a significant amount of wind shear in the atmosphere, one section of this line of thunderstorms produced a series of tornadoes.
Embedded supercells within the line produced two EF-2 tornadoes. Several EF-1 and EF-0 tornadoes were also confirmed, along with straight-line winds that produced damage.
(An EF-0 is 65-85 mph winds; an EF-1 is 86 to 110 mph; and an EF-2 is 111-135 mph.)
The tornadoes included:
• An EF-2 tornado occurred near Springfield in Clark County and ended in London in Madison County. The tornado touched down south of Shawnee High School on Selma Pike, where several trees were snapped. The tornado then strengthened and broadened as it moved east northeast eventually reaching EF2 intensity along Ridge Rd near Highway 41 where three homes had complete roof loss.
There was intermittent EF1 and EF2 damage, consisting of around a dozen barns and outbuildings destroyed and more homes with complete roof loss, then continued for around 10 miles to the east northeast continuing into Madison County.
After retrieving aerial footage from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the path of this tornado was able to be extended over 2 miles. Notable damage occurred at the Madison County Airport, with a complete collapse of one of the metal hangars, with plenty of damage to other hangars and planes. This particular damage indicator allowed for an increase in the max wind speeds to 130 mph for this tornado.
Extensive damage continued eastward to trees and other dwellings, with one home in particular having its second story completely removed. This was the final damage observed as the tornado moved into an open field and lifted.
• An EF-2 tornado was confirmed near Jersey in Franklin and Licking counties. The tornado began in the Havens Corners area near the intersection of Highway 605 and Havens Corners Road and quickly strengthened as it moved through the Havenswood neighborhood in Franklin County, producing tree and minor structural damage indicative of winds between 85 mph and 100 mph.
The tornado continued to rapidly strengthen as it approached McOwen Road, where considerable tree damage was observed, with numerous stands of soft and hard wood trees snapped off completely or uprooted. A shipping container was tossed, and a home suffered extensive roof loss and the loss of one exterior wall, with debris thrown hundreds of yards downstream. In this area, winds were estimated to be around 120 mph.
The tornado began weakening just a bit as it crossed into Licking County, but still produced a wide swath of tree and structural damage along its path across Graham Road SW and Highway 41. Structural damage was mainly in the form of windows blown out, destroyed barns and minor roof removal. The tornado continued to slowly weaken as it moved east-northeast from the Jersey area toward the southwest side of Granville where it dissipated. Along this stretch, mainly tree and very minor structural damage was noted.
• An EF-1 tornado occurred in the Riverside area in Montgomery County. The tornado continued into Greene County before weakening.
The tornado is believed to have first developed in Montgomery County, near the dwellings located just south of Wright-Patterson Air Force base. Large, hardwood branches were broken near the intersection of Mitchell Dr and Spinning Road. Minor tree damage continued across Airway Road into portions of the Air Force Base.
More notable damage was observed into Greene County, specifically at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where a restoration hanger had minor structural damage with sheet metal ripped off. Some planes that were in the process of being restored also took damage due to flying debris. This damage was notable enough to warrant EF1 strength winds around 100 MPH.
Additional damage down Loop Road was observed from the bent guard rails and several hardwood trees broken and snapped. A few of the dwellings on the eastern side of the base took damage to the roofs as shingles were ripped off. More residential damage was observed just east of the base, with quite a bit of shingles lost on the roof of the apartment complex just behind the Meijer grocery store.
Overall, based on the damage, the tornado weakened as it traveled further eastward from this point, with mainly tree damage observed. The last bit of tree damage was found near University Boulevard, just west of the Student Union associated with Wright State University.
• An EF-1 tornado occurred east of London in Madison County. Damage occurred along a northeast path, ending just south of West Jefferson.
The damage revealed that a tornado developed near state Route 665 east of London, moving to the east-northeast. While initially beginning with minor tree and structural damage, including a tipped-over trailer, the tornado increased intensity as it crossed Spring Valley Road and then across Glade Run Road, peaking in intensity as it crossed Wilson Road. At this location, a home lost part of its roof, and tree damage was considerable with snapped off trunks. Damage in this area was consistent with wind speeds around 110 mph.
The tornado continued across West Jefferson-Klousville Road and then onward to Olmstead Road. Additional damage meeting the EF1 category was found along Roberts Road, just southeast of Plain City Georgesville Road. No additional damage was found to the west of Plain City Georgesville Road.
• An EF-1 tornado occurred in Hilliard in Franklin County. Damage occurred in a short path north of Roberts Road.
The survey revealed that a weak tornado developed on the west side of Alton and Darby Creek Road and moved along the north side of Roberts Road through portions of the city of Hilliard. Along the path, damage was a consistent mix of snapped trees, uprooted trees, numerous instances of minor roof and siding damage. One home on Hilliard Rome Road lost part of its roof, and another home near Westbreeze Drive had an attached garage peeled away and shifted. Damage in this area was consistent with wind speeds of around 110 mph.
The tornado weakened as it approached Interstate 270 and dissipated on the east side of the Interstate. Additional damage was observed on both the west and east side of the interstate.
• An EF-0 tornado was confirmed west of Darbydale in Franklin County. The first known damage from this tornado occurred on the southeast corner of the intersection of Biggert Road and London Groveport Road. Several stands of trees in this area were damaged, and some minor roof damage to outbuildings was also observed.
One stand of trees south of London Groveport Road had several trees snapped at the trunk. Additional minor tree damage was observed further west on London Groveport Road. After this, the tornado is believed to have moved over a forested area near Big Darby Creek, and no additional damage was found.
• An EF-0 tornado was confirmed near Harrisburg in Pickaway County. The first known damage from this tornado occurred south of Carson Road, where several trees were damaged. With thanks to the Ohio Department of Transportation, it was noted that storm damage was blown onto southbound Interstate 71 at this location.
Additional damage was found further east on Carson Road, with roof damage to some homes, and a stand of trees with a notable but narrow path of damage. More tree damage was located on the southwest side of Harrisburg, along Harrisburg Road and US Route 62. Finally, some trees and tree branches were downed on Ohio state Route 762, just south of US Route 62.
• An EF-0 tornado was confirmed in the area of Groveport and Canal Winchester in Franklin County. The tornado likely began near the Walnut Woods Metro Park area, more specifically west of Richardson Road. Numerous pine trees were snapped and uprooted, likely indicating the strongest period of the tornado.
The tornado continued eastward over Lithopolis Road where more tree damage was observed. Into the Canal Winchester area, additional tree damage and light structure was observed throughout the city with the damage centered on West Waterloo Street on the north side of town.
Based on available data, the tornado is suspected to have dissipated on the north side of town west of US 33, where light damage was observed on North High Street.
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