Tornado near Cedarville, OH

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
426 PM EDT THU MAY 15 2014

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR CEDARVILLE IN GREENE COUNTY OHIO...

LOCATION...NEAR CEDARVILLE IN GREENE COUNTY OHIO
DATE...MAY 14 2014
ESTIMATED TIME...544 PM TO 603 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF3
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...145 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...400 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...9 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.6808N / 83.8480W 
ENDING LAT/LON...39.7753N / 83.7333W
* 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 CEDARVILLE IN GREENE COUNTY OHIO ON MAY 14 2014.

A DAMAGE SURVEY COMPLETED BY A TEAM FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE IN WILMINGTON WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE GREENE COUNTY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR AND CEDARVILLE POLICE DEPT. CONFIRMED
AN EF3 TORNADO OCCURRED THURSDAY EVENING IN GREENE COUNTY.

THE TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN IN A FIELD JUST WEST OF
STRINGTOWN ROAD WHERE MINOR TREE DAMAGE...ROOF DAMAGE TO A
HOME...AND DAMAGE TO A CAMPER OCCURRED. DAMAGE IN THIS AREA WAS
CONSISTENT WITH WIND SPEEDS AROUND 75 MPH...EF0 ON THE DAMAGE SCALE.

THE TORNADO CONTINUED ACROSS US HIGHWAY 35 AND FEDERAL ROAD WHERE
A FARMSTEAD WAS STRUCK. A BARN AT THIS LOCATION SUSTAINED HEAVY
DAMAGE WITH MUCH OF THE ROOF BEING REMOVED AS WELL AS SOME WALL
FAILURE. WIND SPEEDS AT THIS LOCATION WERE ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND
85 MPH...EF0 ON THE DAMAGE SCALE.

THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED HIGHWAY 72 AND DAMAGED A PROPERTY
HEAVILY. AT THIS LOCATION...SEVERAL FENCES AND OUTBUILDINGS WERE
COMPLETELY DESTROYED. THE RESIDENTIAL HOME HAD WINDOWS BLOWN
OUT...AND SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE. ROOF DAMAGE WAS ALSO SEEN ON
NEARBY BARNS...AND SEVERAL LARGE TREES ON THE PROPERTY WERE
SNAPPED OFF AND BROKEN. A TRAILER WAS ALSO TIPPED OVER. WIND
SPEEDS AT THIS LOCATION WERE ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND 105 MPH...EF1
ON THE DAMAGE SCALE.

ON NEARBY TURNBULL ROAD NEAR A STONE QUARRY...THE TORNADO HEAVILY
DAMAGED ANOTHER PROPERTY. HERE...A DETATCHED GARAGE WAS COMPLETELY
DESTROYED. A SMALL PICKUP TRUCK WAS BRIEFLY LIFTED AND DRAGGED
FROM ITS LOCATION IN THE GARAGE TO THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD ABOUT 75
YARDS AWAY. SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE WAS FOUND TO THE HOME AT THE
PROPERTY...WITH NUMEROUS UPROOTED TREES. A LAWN TRACTOR WAS THROWN
AND DEPOSITED SEVERAL HUNDRED YARDS AWAY. A CONVERGENT PATTERN IN
THE FIELD DEBRIS /BEAN STUBBLE/ JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THIS PROPERTY
SHOWED THE PATH OF THE ACTUAL TORNADO. WIND SPEEDS AT THIS
LOCATION WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 125 MPH...EF2 ON THE DAMAGE SCALE.

THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED THE STONE QUARRY AND
INTENSIFIED...HITTING A FARMSTEAD ON BARBER ROAD DIRECTLY.
HERE...COMPLETE LOSS OF A RESIDENTIAL HOME /BUILT IN THE 1880S/
WAS OBSERVED. ALL EXTERIOR WALLS FAILED AND THE HOME COLLAPSED
WHICH LED TO VERY LITTLE INTERIOR WALL INTEGRITY REMAINING. A
CLOSE INSPECTION OF THE FOUNDATION FOUND VERY LITTLE REINFORCEMENT
FOR THE EXTERIOR WALLS. HEALTHY HARDWOOD TREES WERE DEBARKED AND
REDUCED TO TRUNKS WITH ONLY STUBS OF LARGE BRANCHES REMAINING. SEVERAL
LARGE GRAIN SILOS WERE COMPLETELY LIFTED AND THROWN WELL
DOWNSTREAM /UP TO A HALF MILE/. SEVERAL BARNS WERE COMPLETELY
DESTROYED. AN AVERAGE OF DAMAGE INDICATORS AT THIS LOCATION
SUGGESTS A WIND SPEED OF 145 MPH...EF3 ON THE DAMAGE SCALE.

THE TORNADO THEN HIT A RESIDENCE FURTHER NORTHEAST ON BARBER
ROAD...WHERE PORTIONS OF THE EXTERIOR WALLS WERE REMOVED AS WELL
AS THE ROOF. EXTENSIVE MUD SPATTER COVERED ALL FOUR SIDES OF THE
RESIDENCE. WIND SPEEDS AT THIS LOCATION WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 135
MPH...HIGH-END EF2 ON THE DAMAGE SCALE.

FROM THERE THE TORNADO WEAKENED CONSIDERABLY AS IT MOVED PARALLEL
TO TOWNSLEY ROAD AND DEBRIS FROM UPSTREAM LOCATIONS COVERED FARM
FIELDS AS IT FELL OUT OF THE WEAKENING CIRCULATION. A BARN ON
TOWNSLEY ROAD SUFFERED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE...WITH WINDS ESTIMATED
HERE AT 80 MPH...OR EF0 ON THE DAMAGE SCALE. 

THE TORNADO CROSSED TOWNSLEY ROAD WITH A CLEARLY DEFINED SCOUR
PATH THROUGH BEAN AND CORN STUBBLE. THE TORNADO WEAKENED AND
LIFTED VERY CLOSE TO THE CLARK/GREENE COUNTY LINE AS A LITTLE MORE
DEBRIS FELL OUT OF THE ROTATING STORM INTO EXTREME SOUTHEAST
PORTIONS OF CLARK COUNTY. 

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.

$$

BINAU/HATZOS/KURZ