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EF2 tornado in Jackson County, Ohio

Tornado April 2, 2024 · Jackson County, Ohio

EF2
Rating
1.9 mi
Path length
325 yd
Path width
$20K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 325 yards (0.18 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 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.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Leo (39.0917, -82.7198).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1168061. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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