The National Weather Service has confirmed 5 tornado touchdowns are responsible for storm damage in Arcanum, Laura, Wheatville, Pitsburg and Phillipsburg, Ohio. That’s across 4 counties, including Montgomery, Darke, Preble and Miami counties.
A News Center 7 drone flight over the damage areas along Baltimore-Phillipsburg Road in Clay Twp. show the destruction caused by the EF1 tornado that hit that part of Montgomery County. The aerial video also shows the part of the 3-mile long path of the twister as it made its way through a farm field.
StormCenter 7 Meteorologist McCall Vrydaghs spent the morning with meteorologists with the National Weather Service as they surveyed storm damage at the 5 separate touchdown sites:
- NWS confirms tornado touchdown in Arcanum; strength unknown
- EF1 tornado confirmed in Phillipsburg
- EF1 tornado confirmed near Wheatville in Preble County
- EF0 tornado confirmed in Pitsburg in Darke County
- EF0 tornado confirmed near Laura near the Miami-Darke County line
UPDATE @ 3:58 p.m.:
The National Weather Service in Wilmington has issued a wind advisory that is expected to last from noon to 8 p.m. tomorrow. The areas that are expected to be affected are Auglaize, Champaign, Darke, Hardin, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Union and Wayne counties.
UPDATE @ 2:18 p.m.:
The National Weather Service has confirmed a fifth tornado touchdown near Laura Ohio, near the Darke and Miami county line.
The tornado has been classified as an EFO tornado. Additional details are expected later today.
UPDATE @ 1:36 p.m.:
The National Weather Service has confirmed a fourth tornado touchdown in Pitsburg in Darke County.
The tornado was reported around 2:26 p.m. and has a preliminary rating of an EF0.
Estimated wind speeds were not immediately released.
UPDATE @ 1:26 p.m.:
The National Weather Service has confirmed a third tornado near Wheatville in Preble County Monday.
A report from NWS indicated the Preble County tornado was an EF1 tornado with an estimated maximum wind speed of 100 mph.
The tornado’s path was approximately 1.1 miles and had a maximum path width of 75 yards, the NWS said.
There were no injuries reported in the Preble County tornado.
UPDATE @11:25 a.m.
The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado is responsible for storm damage in Arcanum.
The strength of the tornado is unknown at this time and should be determined later today.
FIRST REPORT
Damages are being assessed after a tornado reportedly touched down in the Phillipsburg area and potentially sparked a fire in Greenville.
Debris was strewn about on the ground around a property on Baltimore-Phillipsburg Road where a home and barn sustained significant damages.
The StormCenter 7 team of Chief Meteorologist Eric Elwell, Meteorologist McCall Vrydaghs and Meteorologist Kirstie Zontini were tracking Monday’s severe weather and warning residents in the northern Miami Valley to take shelter as multiple tornado warnings were issued across three counties. Citizens sent our Stormcenter7 team numerous photos and videos of funnel clouds and damage, providing them crucial evidence that it was very possible a tornado touched down in the area. The confirmation of the EF1 tornado by the NWS came a short time later.
Jenna Kesler, a firefighter in Phillipsburg, said the roof and doors were blown off of a home in the 8800 block of Baltimore Phillipsburg Road.
Steve Woolf, Clay Twp. trustee, lives on Baltimore Phillipsburg Road, across the street from a home that had its roof blown off.
Woolf had been in the basement with his wife and dogs during the first tornado warning. As they came upstairs, the second tornado warning was issued.
“All the sudden a big train sound came through here,” Woolf said, as he saw his neighbor’s roof coming right for his home.
“You never think it’s your stuff,” Woolf said.
A barn was leveled on Arlington Road in the area of Blank Road.
A barn on Dull Road near Arcanum was also significantly damaged.
In Greenville, crews responded to an attic fire that heavily damaged a home in the 1300 block of North Chippewa Drive.
A fire official said they are investigating the cause, but the fire was possibly sparked by lightning while the area was under a Tornado Warning.
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