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EF4 tornado in Montgomery County, Ohio

Tornado May 27, 2019 · Montgomery County, Ohio

EF4
Rating
28.1 mi
Whole path
1,050 yd
Path width
1
Death
166
Injuries
$550.5M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,050 yards (0.60 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF4 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF4 is devastating damage: well-built houses levelled, consistent with estimated gusts of 166–200 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

The tornado initially touched down just west of Brookville and areas on the south side of Brookville sustained heavy damage, consistent with high-end EF2 wind speeds. Numerous homes suffered significant roof damage and removal, including exterior wall collapse and complete garage destruction.

The tornado then carved a path east through Trotwood where damage consistent with EF2 wind speeds was widespread and some homes sustained damage consistent with EF3 wind speeds. Structures here again featured roof removal and exterior wall collapse. This was particularly true on the south side of Westbrook Road. A large number of homes and apartment complexes were impacted further east in Trotwood, with most of this damage consistent with high-end EF2 wind speeds.

The highest winds were estimated to have occurred in a corridor from eastern Trotwood (between Shiloh Springs Road and Westbrook Road), then southeast between Shiloh Springs Road and Turner Road, into areas along the Stillwater River/Riverside Drive area. Embedded within this zone was higher-end EF3 damage. Areas near Riverside Drive and the Stillwater River exhibited damage consistent with wind speeds of 170 mph, or lower-end EF4 damage. This damage included well-built apartment buildings that sustained complete roof and exterior wall removal. In addition, significant tree devastation was found along the Stillwater River, east of Riverside Drive, that included numerous trees that were debarked and nubbed down to the trunk.

The tornado continued southeast through Dayton and Northridge, and crossed I-75 into the Old North Dayton Area, where heavy damage continued to homes and businesses. As the tornado entered Riverside, damage began to lessen in intensity, but plenty of damage consistent with EF1 wind speeds was noted. The tornado continued further to the southeast, causing damage in a subdivision north of Burkhardt Road. The roof of an apartment building on Dodge Court was removed. This is the final known damage caused by this tornado.

An 86 year old woman died (indirect) on September 1st, 2019, in part due to injuries suffered when she was trapped in her home during the tornado.

The wider storm

Thunderstorms developed during the evening hours along a warm front lifting slowly north across the region. Many of the thunderstorms produced tornadoes, including a few strong to violent tornadoes.

Began near Pyrmont (39.8243, -84.4632).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 816403. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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