Barn collapse reported in South Charleston, funnel cloud spotted

A South Charleston family’s barn has been destroyed after a severe storm swept through the area on Tuesday evening and first responders have reports of a funnel cloud spotted in the area.

Ryan Barclay said one of his barns at his property on Cortsville Road collapsed, leaving debris all over the yard.

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Another adjacent barn is still standing. No one on the property was hurt, Barclay said.

First responders witnessed a funnel cloud just southwest of South Charleston in Clark County but Clark County Sheriff Deb Burchett said so far there have been no reports of injuries.

Burchett said her office received reports of a funnel cloud near the village shortly after 5 p.m., and deputies responded to the area. Trees were reported down, but she said no injuries or significant property damage had been reported to her office yet.

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“The South Charleston Police Department saw it and my major was down there and also saw it,” Burchett said. “He said it was a large funnel cloud but he could not tell if it actually touched down or not. We have no injuries, we just have some trees down.”

Residents have reported that tornado sirens went off in South Charleston as the storm passed over on Tuesday evening.

The junior high and high school track teams that were outside practicing had to go in the basement of Miami View Elementary School.

Chris Clark, chief of the Madison Twp. Fire and EMS, said he saw the cloud firsthand. He said firefighters were checking the area but so far only found a few trees knocked down.

“It was southwest of the village,” Clark said of the funnel cloud. “It was moving east. There was obvious and significant rotation in it, however I couldn’t see the base because of the vantage point. I can’t say it was on the ground but it was a rather large funnel cloud.”

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He said the area is mostly rural so it would likely have touched down in a farm field.

“It was a little rattling to see it to be honest with you,” Clark said. “South Charleston PD also saw it and confirmed what I was seeing. It looks like we dodged a bullet because we have no reports of damage anywhere and we’ve got no injuries of any kind. My fire crews have checked the area and we’re not finding anything more than some small trees and branches down.”

In western Clark County, streets are flood in Enon, including Green Meadows Drive and Arnold Avenue.

In Champaign County, there is a report of a tree blocking West Dallas Road near Urbana. There have also been reports of flooded streets in North Lewisburg, West Liberty and St. Paris.

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