March 2, 2012 -- Tornado near Holton

March 2, 2012
Tornado near Holton, IN

Back to the main event page for March 2, 2012

National Weather Service Product Timeline:
PDS Tornado Watch #58 issued at 105 PM EST.
Special Weather Statement issued at 304 PM EST.
Tornado Warning issued at 347 EST.
-- Follow Up issued at 354 EST.
-- Follow Up issued at 404 EST.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
347 PM EST FRI MAR 9 2012

...UPDATED INFORMATION ON TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR HOLTON IN RIPLEY
COUNTY INDIANA...

LOCATION...HOLTON IN RIPLEY COUNTY INDIANA
DATE...MARCH 2 2012
ESTIMATED TIME...353 PM EST
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF3
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...145 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...350 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...9 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.0667N / -85.4070W
ENDING LAT/LON...39.1127N / -85.2562W
* FATALITIES...2
* INJURIES...6

* 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 AN EF3
TORNADO NEAR HOLTON IN RIPLEY COUNTY INDIANA ON MARCH 2 2012.

THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN APPROXIMATELY 0.5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
HOLTON AS AN EF0 TORNADO. THE TORNADO QUICKLY INTENSIFIED AS IT
APPROACHED THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF HOLTON REACHING EF1 TO EF2
INTENSITY. THE PATH OF THE TORNADO MOVED NEARLY PARALLEL TO THE
NORTH SIDE OF US50 AS IT MOVED THROUGH HOLTON. MANY OF THE HOMES
AND BUSINESSES EAST OF MARION STREET WERE DAMAGED BY EF2 INTENSITY
WINDS. THE TORNADO STRENGTHENED TO LOW-END EF3 INTENSITY AS IT
MOVED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF US 50 AND VERSAILLES STREET. AT
THIS POINT TWO FATALITIES OCCURRED IN A MOBILE HOME. SIX INJURIES
WERE ALSO REPORTED IN THE TOWN OF HOLTON.

THIS TORNADO CONTINUED TO THE NORTHEAST FROM THIS POINT...AT
EF2/EF3 INTENSITY DAMAGING HOMES ON SLEEPY ROAD AND OLD MICHIGAN
ROAD. THE TORNADO BEGAN TO DECREASE IN INTENSITY EAST OF OLD
MICHIGAN ROAD AND MAINTAINED EF1 INTENSITY UNTIL IT DISSIPATED
APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF OSGOOD ON FINKS ROAD. SEVERAL
HOMES AND FARMS HAD MINOR DAMAGE ALONG THE TRACK BETWEEN OLD
MICHIGAN ROAD AND THE END OF THE TORNADO.

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.

$$

GARNET

Note: this tornado was responsible for three fatalities. Two occurred in Holton immediately after the tornado. A third fatality occurred when an injured person from Holton succumbed in January 2013.

Radar Imagery:

KIND 0.5° Z -- 3:52 PM	KIND 0.5° SRM -- 3:52 PM

KIND 0.5° Z -- 3:56 PM	KIND 0.5° SRM -- 3:56 PM

These radar images show the circulation associated with the tornado in Holton, IN. The top two images show radar just before the EF3 tornado moved across Holton. The bottom images are just after the tornado passed.