March 14th, 2016 Laura, OH Tornado

Heat Continues for the East and South-Central U.S.; Strong to Severe Storms Across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

The extremely dangerous heat wave continues across the East Coast and much of the South-Central U.S. today. Record high temperatures are expected for some areas especially across the Mid-Atlantic where extreme heat risk conditions reside. There is a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe thunderstorms today for the northern Mid-Atlantic into portions of southern New England. Read More >

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 525 PM EDT TUE MAR 15 2016 ...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR LAURA IN MIAMI COUNTY OHIO... LOCATION...1 SW LAURA IN MIAMI COUNTY OHIO DATE...MARCH 14 2016 ESTIMATED START TIME...230 PM EDT ESTIMATED END TIME...232 PM EDT ESTIMATED START LOCATION...39.9782 N / 84.4268 W ESTIMATED END LOCATION...39.9881 N / 84.4270 W MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF0 ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...75 MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...60 YARDS PATH LENGTH...0.7 MILES * 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 OHIO HAS CONFIRMED AN EF0 TORNADO...ABOUT ONE MILE SOUTHWEST OF LAURA IN MIAMI COUNTY OHIO. THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE OCCURRED AT A PROPERTY ON HALL ROAD. A FEW SHINGLES WERE DAMAGED ON THE HOUSE...AND ONE TREE HAD A LARGE LIMB BROKEN OFF. A MORE CONCENTRATED AREA OF DAMAGE OCCURRED ALONG AND EAST OF STAUFFER ROAD...JUST NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION WITH COPPOCK ROAD. MINOR TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED AT SEVERAL PROPERTIES ON STAUFFER ROAD...WITH A FEW HEALTHY TREES DOWNED. A PINE TREE NEAR THE NORTH END OF THE DAMAGE PATH WAS BLOWN TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST. ONE HOME HAD ITS SHEET METAL ROOF ALMOST COMPLETELY PEELED OFF...AND DEPOSITED TO THE WEST OF THE HOME. MINOR SHINGLE DAMAGE OCCURRED TO A NEARBY GARAGE. THERE WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANT SCATTERING OF MINOR DEBRIS IN THIS LOCATION...INCLUDING SMALL LIMBS AND A PLAY STRUCTURE. A SHED LOCATED BEHIND ONE OF THE RESIDENCES WAS ALSO DESTROYED...WITH ITS DEBRIS SCATTERED NORTHWEST INTO AN ADJACENT FIELD. THE TORNADO IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE LIFTED ABOUT HALFWAY BETWEEN COPPOCK ROAD AND LAURA ARCANUM ROAD. 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. $$ HATZOS/CONIGLIO