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EF2 tornado in Richland County, Ohio

Tornado September 4, 2017 · Richland County, Ohio

EF2

Rating

16.7 mi

Whole path

200 yd

Path width

Injuries

$2.0M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Crawford County → Richland County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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 EF2 tornado crossed into Richland County from Crawford County just to the south of Hook Road in rural Springfield Township. A home on Hook Road just west of Thrush Road sustained heavy damage. Half of the roof of the home was torn off and a bedroom on the southwest side of the house was destroyed. The attached garage on the northeast side of the house was also leveled. Two people inside the southwest corner bedroom were thrown approximately 50 feet and ended up outside in the yard. Both sustained minor injuries. An adjacent detached garage was also leveled. A riding lawnmower inside the adjacent garage was found 100 yards away in a field. The tornado then continued east along Hook Road for several miles causing tree and structural damage. A couple barns were damaged or destroyed and a few other buildings lost roofing or siding in this area. The tornado weakened to an EF1 as it crossed Horning Road. The tornado then continued across open land till it leveled yet another barn as it crossed State Route 314. The tornado strengthened again to EF2 intensity as it crossed Rock Road. One home on Stiving Road was destroyed when large trees landed on the roof of the home causing it to collapse. The house was also knocked off it foundation. Two adjacent homes also sustained damage and some outbuildings were destroyed. At least 5 vehicles at the three homes were destroyed or damage. The tornado continued east and weakened as it crossed State Route 39 just to the north of Cairns Road. The tornado finally lifted about a quarter mile east of Kline Road. Only minor tree damage was observed east of State Route 39. This tornado was on the ground in Richland County for around eight and half miles and had a damage path up to 200 yards in width. Hundreds of trees and many power poles were downed along the damage path.

The wider storm

A strong cold front crossed northern Ohio during the evening of September 4th. A line of showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of this front and moved across the region. A long track tornado caused damage in the Mansfield area. There were also reports of severe weather elsewhere across northern Ohio.

Began near Crestline (40.8133, -82.7257).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 721932. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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