Tornadoes, high winds cause damage in region
EFO tornado hits Enon, leveling barn; fair grandstand damaged.
The National Weather Service said two EF0 tornadoes touched down in Clark County minutes apart.
Weather officials confirmed Thursday that a tornado touched down when severe storms passed through Wednesday, uprooting trees, knocking out power and blanketing some areas with peasized hail.
The National Weather Service conducted surveys in Greene and Clark counties Thursday and said an EF0 tornado touched down west and north of Enon. Fairborn, less than 10 miles away from Enon, also reported significant wind damage.
No one was injured or killed in the storm, according to the NWS.
Tornadic winds tore through the area, leveling a local barn on Dayton Springfield Road southwest of Enon and sending debris into an adjacent home.
Michelle Legge, who was at home when the storm hit, said she had a feeling a tornado was coming, so she tried to get her and her child to safety.
“I looked out of the window and seen a really big cloud coming out of the sky. One of my windows busted out so me and my daughter went in the bathroom,” Legge said. Legge and her daughter were not injured.
According to the NWS, the tornado started at 6:51 p.m., and reached an estimated wind speed of 75-80 mph and traveled about 150 yards before unraveling in less than one minute.
Julie Reed of the NWS said the storm damage in the area was serious and something that the Miami Valley has seen.
“Everyone remembers the storm of 2012 or the remnants of Hurricane Ike in 2008. This is on par with that type of damage,” Reed said.
In 2012, a wind storm caused over $845 million worth of damage in Ohio while 2008’s Hurricane Ike’s leftover winds produced 70-80 mph winds.
At the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, a large piece of the historic grandstand’s south facade appeared to be torn from the structure on South Main Street and a barn at the fairgrounds site was destroyed in the storm.
Fairgrounds Executive Director Greg Wallace said an assessment of total damages to the fairgrounds has not been completed.
Montgomery County Job & Family Services spokesperson Kevin Lavoie said the center was operating on a limited basis Thursday, due to a large antennae falling from the roof.
“The severe weather we had last night knocked over an antennae on our roof. Unfortunately it was directly on top of our server room,” Lavoie said.
Lavoie said the fallen antennae punctured a hole in the roof, which led to rain falling in the room. Safety features in the room shut down servers automatically whenever water is detected.
Cost estimates on how much damage the fallen antennae caused were unknown, Lavoie said.
The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management said none of their jurisdictions requested poststorm assistance.
“A lot of times jurisdictions handle it on their own, but if it reaches a level where they need additional resources we would coordinate getting that for them. But we’re always there in case they need something,” Cathy Petersen, county spokesperson said.