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F2 tornado in Ottawa County, Ohio

Tornado November 10, 2002 · Ottawa County, Ohio

F2
Rating
10.0 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
4
Injuries
$13.5M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado touched down south of Port Clinton and then moved northeast entering the city just west of the intersection of Wilcox Road and Fulton Road. The tornado moved through the heart of the city reaching Lake Erie at Lakeview Park. From there, the tornado moved northeast over Lake Erie to Catawba Island where it finally dissipated after a ten mile long damage path. Four people suffered minor injuries as a result of the tornado. Hardest hit was the Lakeview Park area where two condominiums were blown off their stilts into Lake Erie and many other structures where destroyed. The initial storm damage in Port Clinton occurred along 11th Street where several homes were heavily damaged or destroyed. Significant damage also occurred near 8th and Fulton Streets. As the tornado moved through the city, it damaged the local high school and a hospital. Significant damage also occurred on Catawba Island with several homes damaged and destroyed before the tornado finally dissipated. A total of 24 homes and 16 apartments were destroyed along the damage path with approximately 60 additional homes damaged enough to be deemed uninhabitable. Another 80 structures sustained minor to moderate amounts of damage. The damage path was typically no more than 50 yards in width. Dozens of vehicles were damaged or destroyed by the tornado and hundreds of trees and power poles were toppled.

Began near Port Clinton (41.5167, -82.9500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5322145. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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