Thunderstorm Wind — Van Wert, Ohio

2023-07-20 · near Ohio City, Van Wert, Ohio

Event narrative

Emergency management officials reported a large tree fell onto a house and roof of a patio near the intersection of SR 118 and Hoffman St. An husband and wife were under the roof of the porch at the time and had to be rescued. The husband escaped with no injuries, but his 87 year old wife was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Wider weather episode

On the morning of July 20th, a warm front moved north through the forecast area, followed by a cold front in the late afternoon. Scattered supercells developed ahead of the cold front near the Indiana-Michigan Stateline. These thunderstorms dropped large hail in northern Indiana. As the storms organized and moved southeastward, they produced a widespread swath of wind damage (including numerous downed, uprooted, or snapped trees) in Fort Wayne, IN and into Van Wert, OH.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.7685, -84.6228)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1114731. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.