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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

Tree and light structure damage was first observed at a property to the west of Lancaster Thornville Road NE, shortly after entering the town of Pleasantville. Due to the expansive fields southwest of town, this is believed to be the starting point for this brief and weak tornado. The tornado cut a path across South Main Street, through the southern portions of the town. Along South Main Street, lofted metal roof panels were observed scattered in nearby powerlines and trees. Farther to the east, between South Main Street and Lincoln Avenue, numerous trees were either snapped or uprooted. Light structure damage was also observed on Pleasant Court. The tornado entered nearby fields to the east of Lincoln Avenue. The final observed sign of damage was at a property south of Pleasantville Road NW, near the water tower, and this is where the tornado is believed to have dissipated. While this one mile long tornado is considered to be on the weaker side, a path of convergent damage was visible through the southern portions of Pleasantville. The strongest portion of the tornado was likely along South Main Street, with maximum estimated winds of 85 mph.

The wider storm

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

Began near Pleasantville (39.8037, -82.5287).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1081549. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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