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EF2 tornado in Pike County, Ohio

Tornado June 18, 2026 · Pike County, Ohio

EF2
Rating
8.6 mi
Path length
250 yd
Path width
$250K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 250 yards (0.14 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

The first evidence of tornadic damage occurred on Union Hill Road, about six tenths of a mile north of Appalachian Highway, where a few hardwood trees were snapped and multiple limbs were broken off of trees. The tornado then moved through a heavily forested area towards the intersection of Lansing Road and Chenoweth Fork Road where more tree damage was noted. Tree damage continued in a concentrated path to the east-northeast along Chenoweth Fork Road before crossing Appalachian Highway and causing a fair amount of tree damage at a rest station on Meads Road. The damage noted in the first third of the tornado's path consisted of broken branches, snapped trunks, and uprooted mature trees. This was consistent with EF-0 and EF-1 damage.

The tornado continued east through a forest with a large hillside that was not accessible by ground survey. This coincided with the first evidence of a Tornadic Debris Signature on the Wilmington, Ohio radar. When the tornado came down the ridgeline just west of Elm Grove, the most significant damage indicators were noted. An entire section of hardwood forest, about 200-250 yards wide, was blown down. Drone photography and the ground survey confirmed all hardwood trees in this location were snapped, with none left standing. The estimate for this type of tree damage was around 115 mph, consistent with low end EF-2 damage.

Some higher-end EF-1 damage was observed as the tornado moved northeast off the hillside into Elm Grove, where the complete collapse of out buildings and barns occurred. Additionally, a significant portion of a roof off was lifted off of a house and large power transmission lines were snapped. After Elm Grove, the tornado turned southeast and caused additional damage near the intersection of State Route 772 and Appalachian Highway. The final evidence of tree damage was located on Sun Fish Creek Road, about a half mile south of Tennyson Road.

The wider storm

Thunderstorms developed during the overnight hours as a low pressure system moved through the Ohio Valley.

Began near Poplar Grove (39.0283, -83.2876).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Franklin County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1340876. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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