EF3 Tornado — Ottawa, Ohio

2010-06-05 · near Clay Center, Ottawa, Ohio

Event narrative

A strong tornado moved into western Ottawa County from Wood County during the late evening hours of June 5th. The tornado entered the county at 11:30 pm EDT as a weak EF3 or strong EF2 tornado. A couple homes on Trowbridge Road just east of the county line were heavily damaged. The tornado then continued east northeast to just north of the intersection of Billman and Trowbridge Roads where a few more homes were significantly damaged. After crossing Billman Road, the tornado took a turn to the right and intensified back to EF3. The tornado crossed Reiman Road just south of Trowbridge Road and finally lifted just before reaching Bolander Road. Around a dozen homes near the intersection of Trowbridge Road and Reiman Road were damaged. In Ottawa County, a total of 11 homes were destroyed with another 14 homes sustaining major damage from the tornado. Around 20 additional homes sustained lesser damages. This tornado was on the ground in Ottawa County for just over two and a quarter miles and had a maximum width of around 200 yards. Two injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

A stationary frontal system stretched across the lower Great Lakes on the morning of Saturday, June 5th. This resulted in a very warm and humid airmass over northern Ohio. Outflow boundaries from earlier storms interacted with the stationary front to initiate thunderstorm development during the afternoon hours across inland northern Ohio. One of the stronger thunderstorms produced tornadoes in Richland and Holmes Counties. There were also a few reports of straight line thunderstorm wind damage. A rapidly deepening area of low pressure moved quickly east across southern lower Michigan during the evening hours. This low eventually moved across Lake Erie during the early morning hours of the 6th. Showers and thunderstorms developed across northern Indiana during the evening hours. These storms intensified and moved east along the stationary front and into Northwest Ohio. A devastating EF4 tornado developed over Wood County a little before midnight. This tornado moved into Ottawa County before dissipating. Seven people were killed and dozens of homes destroyed by the tornado. A weaker tornado also moved across portions of Lucas County. A third round of storms developed during the early morning hours of the 6th ahead of a cold front trailing the low. These storms moved across northern Ohio and produced pockets of damage. An EF1 tornado occurred in Ashtabula County around daybreak. A total of five tornadoes occurred in northern Ohio on June 5th and 6th. These tornadoes killed seven people, injured dozens and destroyed or damaged over a 100 homes. A school and a public administration building were also leveled. Damage estimates easily topped $100 million.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 239906. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.