Ohio is seeing record tornado activity for beginning of year
Ohio has set a new record for the most tornadoes through the first three months of the year. Is the state on track to surpass its yearly total?
Through mid-march, Ohio had 18 tornadoes touch down, according to the National Weather Service, the most this early in the year. The previous record was 12 tornadoes in 1986, WBNS TV-10 reports.
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a different total than the NWS, with 28 tornadoes in Ohio to date in 2024, the second in the nation. Florida is first with 30.
What is Ohio’s record for most tornadoes in a year?
The worst year for tornadoes in Ohio was 1992, when 63 twisters touched down, according to NOAA statistics.
The strongest that year was an EF4 tornado that hit Van Wert County in Western Ohio on Feb. 18. With wind speeds of 166 to 200 mph, the tornado was on the ground for 2.8 miles and caused six injuries but no fatalities. It destroyed a house, a mobile home and two cars, and damaged nine homes, according to Tornado Talk.
Two EF3 tornadoes spawned on Nov. 22, 1992, in Western Ohio during a late fall tornado outbreak over the eastern third of the US, according to the NOAA. Ninety-two tornadoes developed over a three-day period from Nov. 21 to 23, and 20 of those touched down in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
In Ohio, the first tornado started at 5 p.m. near the Campbellstown community in Preble County and traveled 12 miles, ending near Castine in Darke County. The second twister picked up near there at about 5:20 p.m. and traveled another 8 miles. It ended near Arcanum, also in Darke County.
Will 2024 surpass Ohio’s 1992 total for tornadoes?
Through the first three months of the year, Ohio’s 28 tornadoes are already about 45% of the way to the state’s 1992 total of 63 tornadoes, using NOAA statistics. And tornado season, which typically peaks between April and June, is only beginning.
“One thing to keep in mind is that we’re still kind of entering what would be considered normal severe weather season,” National Weather Service meteorologist Logan Clark told the Columbus Dispatch after March’s tornado outbreak. “So, yeah, that potential (for more tornadoes) always exists.”
Does global warming play a role in Ohio’s tornadoes?
It’s tough to tie any single weather event to global warming, Clark said. However, scientists also note that changing climates and warming oceans impact the jet stream.
But Clark said the jet stream is most active during winter. Jet streams are strong bands of wind that run west to east across the globe. That jet stream wind combined with unseasonably warm temperatures creates a favorable environment for storm supercells.
Bailey Gallion of the Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report.