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EF1 tornado in Ottawa County, Ohio

Tornado November 17, 2013 · Ottawa County, Ohio

EF1

Rating

0.8 mi

Path length

75 yd

Path width

$50K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 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

An EF0 tornado touched down east of Elmore along West Yeasting Road just to the west of State Route 590. The tornado moved northeast and briefly intensified to EF1 intensity as it crossed State Route 590. A barn near this location was leveled. The tornado continued on the ground for another half mile or so and then lifted. The damage path was around three quarters of a mile in length and no more than 75 yards in width. Damage consisted mainly of a few downed trees and limbs.

The wider storm

A strong cold front moved across northern Ohio during the evening hours of November 17th. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed in advance of this front causing significant damage in some areas. At least three tornadoes touched down in Wood County. The strongest of the three, an EF2, crossed into Lucas County. A fourth tornado occurred in Ottawa County. All of the tornadoes downed trees and damaged homes and buildings. Strong non thunderstorm winds also occurred behind the cold front through the evening hours.

Began near Elmore Haar Fld Arpt (41.4650, -83.2230).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Wood County EF1 Wood County EF1 Wood County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 486100. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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