Tornado Through Brookville, Trotwood, Dayton and Riverside in Montgomery County, OH - May 27, 2019

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
National Weather Service Wilmington OH
1035 AM EDT Fri May 31 2019

...UPDATED INFORMATION ON EF4 UPGRADE FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY...

Location...across central Montgomery County, Ohio
Date...........................May 27 2019
Start Time.....................1041 PM EDT
End Time.......................1113 PM EDT
Maximum EF-Scale Rating........EF4
Estimated Maximum Wind Speed...170 MPH
Maximum Path Width.............0.60 mile
Path Length....................20 miles
Beginning Lat/Lon...39.8243N / 84.4632W
Ending Lat/Lon......39.7580N / 84.1121W

...Summary...
This is an updated statement regarding the increase in rating from
EF3 to EF4 for the tornado which moved from near Brookville
through Trotwood to Dayton and Riverside.

The initial survey across the hardest hit areas of Montgomery
County (Trotwood, Dayton, Riverside) was not able to access some
areas of significant damage due to safety concerns, road closures,
traffic congestion, and the need to stay out of the way of ongoing
search and rescue operations.

Aided by analysis of aerial photography with support from the
Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation Section, a second NWS survey
team with damage specialists was sent to homes and businesses
which were targeted as the most intense damage from aerial
imagery.

This team found a corridor of high-end EF3 damage (150-165
mph) from eastern Trotwood (between Shiloh Springs Road and
Westbrook Road), then southeast between Shiloh Springs Road and
Turner Road, into areas along the Stillwater River/Riverside Drive
area.

Embedded within this zone of higher end EF3 damage, areas near
Riverside Drive and the Stillwater River exhibited damage
consistent with wind speeds of 170 mph /EF4/. This damage
included well-built apartment buildings with complete roof and
exterior wall removal. In addition, significant tree devastation
including numerous trees debarked and nubbed down to the trunk
were found along the Stillwater River east of Riverside Drive.
This damage supports wind speeds around 170 mph, thus the upgrade
to EF4.

The following narrative is the original statement from the first
survey.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The tornado initially touched down just west of Brookville and
quickly became strong, with areas on the south side of Brookville
sustaining heavy damage, with damage consistent with high-end EF2
wind speeds. Numerous homes suffered significant roof damage and
removal, with exterior wall collapse, and complete garage
destruction. The tornado then carved a path east through Trotwood
where damage consistent with EF2 wind speeds was widespread, with
some homes sustaining damage consistent with EF3 wind speeds
which again featured roof removal and exterior wall collapse. This
was particularly true on the south side of Westbrook Road. A
large number of homes and apartment complexes were impacted
further east in Trotwood, most of this damage consistent with
high-end EF2 wind speeds.

The tornado continued southeast through Dayton and Northridge,
crossing I-75 and into the Old North Dayton Area, where heavy
damage continued to homes and businesses. As the tornado entered
Riverside, damage began to lessen in intensity but plenty of
damage consistent with EF1 wind speeds was noted before the
tornado lifted just west of the Greene County line.

Based on additional information received via Dayton Skywarn and
the Red Cross, it is believed the tornado continued further to the
southeast, causing damage in a subdivision north of Burkhardt
Road. The roof of an apartment building on Dodge Ct was removed.
This is the final known damage caused by this tornado.

The survey team noted hundreds of homes, businesses, and apartment
complexes and thousands of trees along the path sustaining
moderate to heavy damage, and in particular the width of the
tornado along much of this path was up to or perhaps in excess of
a 1/2 mile which led to a an extremely devastating damage
footprint across Montgomery County.

The NWS in Wilmington would like to thank the Montgomery County
Emergency Management Agency, the Trotwood Fire Department, and
the Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation Section for assistance in
completing this survey.

EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the
following categories:

EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph
EF1...Weak......86 to 110 mph
EF2...Strong....111 to 135 mph
EF3...Strong....136 to 165 mph
EF4...Violent...166 to 200 mph
EF5...Violent...>200 mph

* The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to
change pending final review of the event and publication in NWS
Storm Data.

$$