EF2 Tornado — Jackson, Ohio

2024-04-02 · near Leo, Jackson, Ohio

Event narrative

A tornado formed along Erwin Hollow Road where several hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted. The tornado then moved northeast over a thick forest of mixed pine and hardwood trees between Erwin Hollow Road and Roberts Road where drone footage showed an extensive area of leveled hardwood trees and EF2 intensity was obtained. The drone footage and ground surveys then showed that the tornado weakened and the path became intermittent as it crossed Roberts Road, where a house was damaged when a tree fell on it. The last damage was noted along Oakland Road where several large pine trees were uprooted or snapped.

Wider weather episode

Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms moved across parts of Ohio at the start of the month of April. An intense squall line raced through portions of southeast Ohio on the late morning of April 2nd, which spawned four tornadoes and caused numerous other locations to observe straight-line wind damage. Additional severe thunderstorms occurred late in the afternoon and into the evening of April 2nd, producing additional tornadoes and wind damage centered within southern and eastern Ohio.

The multiple rounds of rain produced numerous instances of flash flooding around Ohio. Widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches had fallen across southern and eastern Ohio, with localized amounts near 6 inches observed. Runoff from this rainfall, coupled with heavy rain occurring in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, caused moderate to major flooding along the Ohio River. Moderate flooding was observed first along the lower Muskingum River, with both McConnellsville and Beverly having surpassed their respective moderate flood stage. Drainage into the Ohio River eventually sent the river into flood on April 4th from north to south, with subsequent crests occurring into April 5th. Locations along the upper reaches experienced moderate flooding. In addition, Marietta exceeded major flood stage. Overall impacts were significant with numerous roads and structures observing flooding along the West Virginia side of the river.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.0917, -82.7198)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1168061. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.