Severe Weather, Tornadoes & Flooding - April 19-20, 2011

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1001 PM EDT WED APR 20 2011

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR CELINA IN MERCER COUNTY OHIO...

LOCATION...CELINA IN MERCER COUNTY OHIO
DATE...APRIL 19, 2011
ESTIMATED TIME...1140 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF- SCALE RATING...EF2
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...115 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...30 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...4 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...40.5496N/84.5549W
ENDING LAT/LON...40.5751N/84.4933W
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON OH HAS CONFIRMED A
TORNADO NEAR CELINA IN MERCER COUNTY OHIO ON APRIL 19, 2011.

A NWS STORM DAMAGE SURVEY CONDUCTED THIS AFTERNOON CONFIRMED A
TORNADO TOUCHDOWN BEGINNING IN CELINA OHIO...AND EXTENDING
NORTHEAST TO 2 MILES SOUTH OF NEPTUNE IN EASTERN MERCER COUNTY.
INITIAL WIND DAMAGE OCCURRED NEAR LAKE STREET IN CELINA...AND
TRAVELED NORTHEAST THROUGH THE EASTERN END OF CELINA. THE INITIAL
DAMAGE WAS INDICATIVE OF EF1...WHICH INCLUDED SUBSTANTIAL ROOF
AND CHIMNEY DAMAGE AND VERY LARGE TREES UPROOTED AND SNAPPED.

THE DAMAGE FURTHER TO THE NORTHEAST WAS MORE INDICATIVE OF LOW END
EF2 TORNADO DAMAGE. THIS OCCURRED ALONG HAVEMANN ROAD EAST OF
ROUTE 29. THIS DAMAGE EXTENDED FROM A HOME IMPROVEMENT
WAREHOUSE...WHERE AS MUCH AS 20 PERCENT OF THE ROOF STRUCTURE WAS
UPLIFTED AND HVAC UNITS WERE MOVED...ALONG WITH LUMBER IMPALING
THE ROOFING MATERIAL AND DAMAGING INDOOR INVENTORY. WOODEN FENCE
WALLS WERE DOWNED...SNAPPED AT THE BASE OF THEIR FOUR BY FOUR
FENCE POSTS.

ADDITIONALLY...NUMEROUS POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED AND METAL LIGHT
POSTS WERE DOWNED. ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF HAVEMANN AND ROUTE
29...A LARGE BRICK FREE STANDING GROCERY BUILDING SUFFERED MAJOR
DAMAGE...INCLUDING NEARLY ALL OF THE ROOF LIFTED OFF AND ONE IF
ITS BRICK WALLS COLLAPSED INWARD.

CONTINUING THE DAMAGE INDICATIVE OF A LOW END EF2 SCALE TORNADO...
FURTHER NORTHEAST ALONG THE PATH...SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE OCCURRED TO
A HOME ALONG STAEGER ROAD. THE ENTIRE ATTACHED GARAGE WAS
DESTROYED...WITH NEARLY A THIRD OF THE ROOFING ON THE HOME GONE.
THE SIDING ON THE SECOND STORY OF THE HOME HAD BEEN IMPALED BY A 2
BY 4 SECTION OF LUMBER. A SMALL SUV VEHICLE PARKED IN THE REAR OF
THE HOME WAS TOPPLED...AND A 25 FOOT MOBILE HOME WAS MOVED NEARLY
30 YARDS. A 40 BY 50 FOOT STEEL FRAME OUT BUILDING WAS COMPLETELY
DEMOLISHED. A PONTOON BOAT WHICH WAS WITHIN THIS OUTBUILDING WAS
ALSO MOVED AT LEAST 15 YARDS. DEBRIS FROM THE GARAGE AND THE
OUTBUILDING WAS STREWN OVER 100 YARDS NORTHEAST OF THE HOME.

ADDITIONAL DAMAGE FURTHER TO THE NORTHEAST IN MERCER COUNTY
OCCURRED ALONG RILEY ROAD BETWEEN OLDTOWN AND HOWICK ROADS. THIS
DAMAGE WAS INDICATIVE OF AN EF1 SCALE TORNADO...IN WHICH ONE
WOODEN AND ONE STEEL BARN WERE BOTH DESTROYED...WITH AN ADDITIONAL
STEEL FRAME BUILDING SUFFERING DOOR DAMAGE AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO
PART OF THE ROOF AND BUCKLING OF ONE WALL.

FROM HERE THE DAMAGE PATH EXTENDED FURTHER NORTHEAST INTO AUGLAIZE COUNTY.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/ILN.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.

&&

10