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EF2 tornado in Licking County, Ohio

Tornado February 28, 2024 · Licking County, Ohio

EF2

Rating

14.0 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

$500K

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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 began in Franklin County at 0549EST in the Havens Corners area. It moved east-northeast and entered Licking County near the intersection of Dixon and McOwen Roads at 0553EST. The tornado caused a wide swath of tree and structural damage along its path across Graham Road SW and the Jersey area. Structural damage was mainly in the form of windows blown out, destroyed barns, and minor roof removal. The tornado slowly weakened as it moved east-northeast toward the southwest side of Granville where it dissipated. Along this stretch, mainly tree and very minor structural damage was noted.

The wider storm

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

Began near Jersey (40.0402, -82.7684).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1155090. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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