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EF1 tornado in Franklin County, Indiana

Tornado May 7, 2024 · Franklin County, Indiana

EF1
Rating
8.0 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width
$10K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Franklin County → Butler County, Ohio; 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 EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 started just to the east of Brookville Lake, in a field just west of the Hickory Woods Campground. Tornadic damage was first observed at the Hickory Woods Campground where numerous trees were blown over, snapped or uprooted. Numerous camping units and manufactured homes were also overturned or damaged. On the other side of State Road 101, two outbuildings were destroyed and additional tree damage occurred.

The tornado briefly moved to the northeast and produced damage along Whitcomb Road. One outbuilding was destroyed and a few trees were snapped or blown over. The tornado then moved southeast where the next area of visible damage was along Liberty Pike, Oxford Pike and Urban Road. One two story single family home on Oxford Pike had its roof completely lifted off and there was also visible exterior wall collapse on the second story of one side of the home. Winds here were estimated to be up to 110 mph, representing high-end EF-1 damage.

Once the tornado moved to Springfield Road, it appeared to have weakened. Minor tree damage was observed on Springfield Road and damage to a barn was seen on Raymond Road. The tornado then moved into Butler County, Ohio, at 2008EST, about 5 miles south-southwest of Oxford, and ended shortly thereafter at 2009EST.

The wider storm

Showers and thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and evening hours ahead of a low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley.

Began near Whitcomb (39.4624, -84.9587).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1172537. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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