TornadoLookup

Home / Ohio / Putnam

EF1 tornado in Putnam County, Ohio

Tornado April 2, 2025 · Putnam County, Ohio

EF1
Rating
15.3 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Van Wert County → Putnam 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 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

A tornado touched down on the south side of Van Wert, OH where a barn was destroyed on US 127 south of Peter Collins Rd. The tornado continued to the northeast through open fields. Tree and shingle damage was then noted on Middle Point Rd near the intersection with SR 116 where the tornado completely destroyed a two-story barn structure. The tornado might have briefly skipped as it traversed to the northeast before causing noticeable damage on Lincoln Hwy. The tornado then caused some minor damage to a deer farm before destroying a pole barn. After crossing into Putnam county north of the intersection of US 224 and Bockey Rd. the last noticeable damage occurred just northwest of Ottoville. As this tornado dissipated, another tornado formed off just to its north. The total track across the two counties was 15.6 miles with maximum winds of 95 mph.

The wider storm

The atmosphere was primed for severe weather during the afternoon and evening hours of April 2nd. 0-1 km SRH values of 300 to 500 m2/s2, 60 to 70 kts of shear and MLCAPE of around 1000 J/KG set the stage for numerous thunderstorms. Damage reports were not as widespread, but those that occurred tended to be in swaths related to cold pools from bowing segments or tornadoes. Eight tornadoes (three in northern Indiana, one which crossed from Indiana into Lower Michigan, one in lower Michigan and three in northwestern Ohio). A total of five injuries were reported (three in NW Ohio and two in N Indiana).

Began near Ottoville (40.9373, -84.3989).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1244710. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.