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F2 tornado in Wayne County, Ohio

Tornado November 12, 2003 · Wayne County, Ohio

F2
Rating
12.0 mi
Path length
125 yd
Path width
3
Injuries
$21.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. 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 southwest of Wooster near the intersection of U.S. Route 250 and Old Lincoln Highway (County Road 30A). Several businesses were heavily damaged near the site of the initial touchdown. The tornado then crossed State Route 302 and moved over open farmland and into a business park on the southwest side of Wooster. Several more business were damaged in this area. The tornado continued east through residential neighborhoods just north of downtown Wooster. The tornado exited the city near the intersection of State Routes 3/83 and 585. A factory near this location was heavily damaged. The tornado continued east into Green Township and strengthened to F2 intensity at it crossed Geyers Road. Two more businesses were heavily damaged in this area. The tornado weakened to F1 intensity just after severely damaging a home on Canal Road near Eby Road. The tornado continued across open farmland for another four miles before finally lifting just southwest of Orrville near the intersection of Back Orrville Road and North Crown Hill Road. The damage path was around 12 miles in length and up to 125 yards in width. Around 15 businesses and over 100 homes were damaged by this tornado. Ten semi trailers were overturned at one factory and over 30 cars heavily damaged at an automobile dealership. Many other automobiles were damaged along the damage path. In addition, hundreds of trees and dozens of power poles were downed.

Began near Wooster (41.3667, -83.6667).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F1 Stark County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5331256. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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