EF2 Tornado — Mercer, Ohio

2017-11-05 · near Padua, Mercer, Ohio

Event narrative

This tornado developed in Delaware County, Indiana, near the town of Eaton and then moved across Blackford and Jay Counties in Indiana before crossing into Mercer County, Ohio at 1418EST near the intersection of St. Anthony Road and County Road 235 (see Storm data for Indiana, Central and Northeast, for more information on the beginning portion of this tornado in Indiana). The tornado traveled northeast in Mercer County for just more than 8 miles before terminating in a wooded area north of Carmel Church Road and west of Now Road. A few pieces of light debris were carried slightly further to the northeast, but the tornado is not believed to have been on the ground east of Now Road.

The vast majority of the surveyed path in Mercer County contained damage consistent with winds of 60 to 100 MPH, including scattered tree damage, significant damage or destruction of outbuildings, and minor damage to well-built homes. In all, 20 to 25 different properties were affected by this tornado in Mercer County.

Damage was determined to be most significant at two different locations along the track, with wind speeds estimated at 120 MPH, or EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The first of these locations was a dairy farm on State Route 49 north of St. Anthony Road. At this location, a small home had its roof completely removed, with the removal and collapse of some exterior walls. It was noted that while some walls were collapsed, toe nailing was the primary anchoring mechanism for the roof and walls on this home. Barns and outbuildings on the property were significantly damaged or destroyed and debris from this location was deposited up to a mile downstream.

The second location exhibiting EF2-rated damage was at a property on Mud Pike Road just east of Township Line Road. Here, a well-built residence had the majority of its roof removed, including the entirety of the garage roof. Sections of brick facade were removed from the exterior walls of the home, with significant mud splatter on the east-facing exterior wall. A large well-constructed barn adjacent to this home was completely demolished, with debris thrown about a mile downstream of its source location.

Throughout its track across Mercer County, this tornado exhibited a large and relatively uniform width, with damage observed that indicated a width of near or slightly greater than three tenths of a mile. Some minor damage was even observed outside of this estimated width. Downstream of some of the affected properties, debris fields were observed to be long, wide, and relatively uniform.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms overspread the region during the afternoon and evening hours as a slow moving cold front pushed through the Ohio Valley. The storms produced damaging winds, heavy rainfall and isolated tornadoes. The storms continued into the overnight hours with flooding lingering into the early morning hours.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.5092, -84.8028)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 721508. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.