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EF2 tornado in Madison County, Ohio

Tornado February 28, 2024 · Madison County, Ohio

EF2

Rating

36.1 mi

Whole path

500 yd

Path width

Injuries

$2.6M

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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 tornado first touched down in Clark County at 0452EST, 5 miles south-southeast of Springfield. It moved east-northeast and crossed into Madison County at 0506EST, 2.3 miles west-southwest of Summerford.

The tornado downed numerous trees and caused significant damage to several structures as it moved through western Madison County. Notable damage occurred at the Madison County Airport where one of the metal hangars was completely collapsed. There was also significant damage to several other hangars and planes at the airport. Based on the damage, winds were estimated to be 130 mph at this location. The tornado continued east from here, damaging other dwellings and trees. One home in particular had its second story completely removed. The tornado then lifted in an open field, 1 mile north-northeast of Lafayette.

The wider storm

Showers and thunderstorms developed during the early morning hours ahead of a cold front moving through the Ohio Valley.

Began near Summerford (39.9204, -83.5416).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Franklin County EF1 Montgomery County EF1 Franklin County EF0 Franklin County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1155082. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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