Ohio tornado: NWS confirms Tipp City twister; is still investigating others
The National Weather Service has confirmed that one tornado touched down Wednesday evening near West Milton and Tipp City in Miami County when storms rolled through the area.
Several news outlets reported that the tornado, which had not yet been rated Thursday morning, caused major damage to a Meijer Distribution Center along South County Road 25A in Tipp City, about 75 miles west of Columbus.
“That appears to be what happened,” Scott Hickman, a meteorologist with the Wilmington office of the National Weather Service, said Thursday. “We're going to go out and do a survey today to look at the damage and to rate the tornado.”
Joel Smith, director of the Miami County Emergency Management Agency, said the tornado left the Meijer distribution center's roof partially destroyed and collapsed a wall.
Three industrial facilities at Industry Park Court also experienced significant damage, Smith said, adding no “major damage” has been reported in nearby residential areas.
As of Thursday morning, there were no reports of injuries or loss or life, according to Smith.
“A great story at the Meijer facility is that they heeded the advance warning and had everyone in their safe zones prior to the tornado hitting the facility,” Smith said. “I estimated about 100 people were there. Early action may likely
have saved lives.”
The tornado was part of a storm system that swept through much of southwestern and central Ohio Wednesday evening and produced damaging winds.
The Wilmington office of the National Weather Service said in a statement around 10 p.m. Wednesday that it had received “numerous” reports of damage, in addition to several reports and pictures of other possible tornadoes.
“We're trying to grab team members this morning to figure out how we're going
to go out and survey these areas, including Tipp City,” Hickman said. “This may be a multi-day event. It may not all be done in one day.”
As of Thursday morning, the National Weather Service had confirmed damage from Wednesday's storms occurred in southeastern Darke County, south of Pitsburg; Clark County, near Lawrenceville; Brown County, near Sardinia; and Hocking County, near South Bloomingville. mtrombly@dispatch.com @Monroetrombly