Tornadoes of 2020

March 3, 2020
County:  Warren, Allen
EF-Scale: EF2
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  250 yards
Path length:  2.2 mile
Time: 12:15am CST
Notes: Most of the damage was around the southeastern portion of the Alvaton community. The tornado was preceded by straight-line winds, then just east of Claypool Boyce Road there was a distinct change in the tree pattern. Instead of just going to the northeast trees were now going to the northwest, north and northeast. A large 2 x 8 went flying and got wedged between the windshield wiper and the windshield of a vehicle but incredibly did not crack the windshield. This is where a small tornado formed within the straight-line wind path with winds between 80 and 85 mph. Residents reported half inch hail, followed by a surge in lightning, then quiet, then a 20 second loud roar with popping in their ears followed by complete silence again. Further east in the 500 block of Kara Court there was significant tree damage with the back of a house being uplifted and insulation being thrown upwind and downwind around the back of the house. Trees were laying in all directions with lots of twisting and many snapped trees. At the 200 block of Cross Creek Court was the clearest evidence of trees facing all eight cardinal directions. In this area many trees were snapped and uprooted. The survey team estimated well over 500 trees in a 1 mile stretch uprooted, snapped, or pushed over. Two of the snapped trees landed on pick-up trucks. Winds increased to 95 mph with a width of 225 yards. At the 2400 block of WG Talley Road was the most significant damage of the entire survey. Three barns were destroyed, 2 of them were concreted in strong firm footers. One of the barns was 30 x 80, one was 150 x 100, and one was 12 x 16 along with numerous sheds destroyed, and debris was thrown in all directions downwind up to 500 yards. A 5000 pound horse trailer was thrown to the northwest 70 yards. A very well-built family residence took a direct hit from the EF2 tornado, with the front side of the home having the plywood exposed and with most of the shingles gone but the rest of the house fully intact due to the house having all the proper clips and braces with rebar. Wind speeds at this point were 116 mph with a width of 250 yards. Tree damage continued into Allen County along Allen Springs Road. The tornado lifted just north of Bailey School Road in far NW Allen County.

April 8, 2020
County:  Nelson
EF-Scale: EF1
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  45 yards
Path length:  4 miles
Time: 11:20-11:25pm EDT
Notes: The tornado initially touched down on the northwest side of a large family home and farm on Fairfield Road. The upper part of the roof of a two story home was lifted off and thrown in various directions. Several large 2x10s and 2x8s were impaled in the ground about 50 yards from the barn. Two trees on the property sustained extensive damage. The tornado at this point was only 35 yards wide with wind speeds of 95 mph. The owner of the house was upstairs sleeping when he felt his ears popping, then a large roar of wind on top of the house and bricks fell on his bed. The tornado then moved across a mixture of open farm fields and scattered forest. There was a significant swath of tree damage between Fairfield Road and Murrays Run Road with trees uprooted and snapped. Drone footage clearly showed trees lying in multiple directions. The tornado hit a property on Murrays Run Road ripping off the sides of a large well-built barn. The back part of the barn was thrown to the west while a wagon in the trailer was pushed out through the barn. A 72'x12' shed next to the barn was destroyed. Parts of that barn were impaled into the ground 75 yards from the damage path. Across the street the tornado did extensive roof damage to a family house and barn. Debris from the barn was thrown up to 300 yards downwind and in many different directions. The family said that they heard all the doors in the house shut tightly and heard a distinct roar. The tornado produced sporadic damage across farmland mainly in terms of trees, with more concentrated damage along Plum Run Road. Cedar tree damage was rather extensive with many cedars snapped. Winds here were around 90 mph with a width of 40 yards. The tornado destroyed an old barn on Chester Hahn Road but then weakened to an EF0 of 80 mph and ended with a few snapped trees before Dugan Lane.