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EF0 tornado in Fairfield County, Ohio

Tornado April 5, 2023 · Fairfield County, Ohio

EF0
Rating
5.7 mi
Whole path
100 yd
Path width
$500K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Fairfield County → Fairfield County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The first sign of tornadic damage was observed along Election House Road NW, where an outbuilding lost several metal panels from the roof. These panels were found embedded within the trees of the neighboring property across the road. Additional tree damage and light structure damage was observed there. The tornado then crossed Rainbow Drive NW, with a clear path of tree damage observed on both sides of the road. Damage of similar intensity was found on the west and east sides of Lancaster Kirkersville Rd NW. The tornado then crossed Coonpath Road NW, between Stringtown Road NW and Lancaster Kirkersville Rd NW. Additional minor structure damage was observed at several properties along Stringtown Road NW, north of Coonpath Road NE. Additional tree damage was observed along the northern portions of the Pleasant Valley Golf Course. Intensity remained weak, but a clear path of damage continued to be found along several properties on Tschopp Rd NE. The tornado then crossed Lancaster Newark Road NE with visible tree damage on both sides of the roadway. The final section of tree damage was located along Old Mill Road NE. No additional damage was observed east of this location so the tornado likely weakened and dissipated before crossing Old Millersport Road NE. Throughout the path, the intensity of the tornado did not appear to change drastically, with similarly observed damage from start to finish and maximum winds estimated to be 80 mph.

The wider storm

Showers and thunderstorms overspread the region as a strong low pressure system moved through the Ohio Valley.

Began near Lncster Frfld Co Arp (39.7618, -82.6479).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1081548. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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