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EF2 tornado in Monroe County, Ohio

Tornado February 28, 2024 · Monroe County, Ohio

EF2

Rating

4.0 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

Injury

$500K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 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

A NWS Storm Survey confirmed an EF-2 tornado tracked roughly 4 miles from Miltonsburg to Ozark in Monroe County. The tornado was embedded within a wider swath of straight-line wind damage. Maximum wind gusts were near 120mph. There was widespread tree damage and many outbuildings were affected. The most significant damage was located off Minder Road where a house sustained major damage, which consisted of it being shifted off its foundation, windows blown out, and a complete collapse of the attached garage. There was one indirect injury during cleanup efforts.

The wider storm

A strong upper-level low tracked through the Great Lakes and into the Ohio River Valley early on February 28th. Nocturnal convection was mainly elevated before 5 AM, with a few hail reports noted. However, with a surge of warm air after 6 AM, there was just enough instability to develop a tornado within a line of storms in Monroe County. Based on sounding profiles from PIT and ILN (06Z and 12Z profiles), shear was strong within the low-levels, ranging from 50kts to 60kts. Directional wind shear, noted in the hodograph, indicated that the threat for tornadoes was also elevated.

Began near Miltonsburg (39.8154, -81.1448).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1161853. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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