Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Ohio, June 5 to 6, 2010

An EF0 tornado touched down in rural Richland County about two miles north northwest of Lucas. The initial touchdown occurred near the intersection of Crimson and Mount Zion Roads. The tornado then continued southeast for around four tenths of a mile before dissipating. The damage path suggests that the tornado may not have been in constant contact with the ground. The damage path was no more than 20 yards in width. A barn was leveled by the tornado and two other buildings were damaged. Four cattle were injured by flying debris. Debris from the destroyed barn was found about three miles away from the location of the touchdown.

An EF1 tornado touched down two miles northwest of Berlin around 2:40 pm EDT. The tornado then moved southeast to Walnut Creek and eventually moved into Tuscarawas County near Sugar Creek. This tornado did not appear to be in contact with the ground the entire length of the damage path. The damage path in Holmes County was nearly nine miles in length and up to 100 yards in width. Damage occurred to around a dozen homes and buildings along the damage path. Most of the damage was from lost roofing or siding. A camper trailer was blown over and a garage was also knocked off of it's foundation. Some large signs were torn off of the roof of a business located east of Berlin. The signs landed in a nearby parking lot and damaged at least eight cars. Dozens of trees and at least two utility poles were knocked down along the damage path.

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.

Thunderstorm winds downed a couple large trees.

Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at 65 mph.

An EF1 tornado touched downed northwest of Whitehouse in far western Lucas County. The initial touchdown occurred just east of the intersection of County Road 109 and State Route 64. The tornado then continued northeast on the ground for nearly three and a half miles before lifting near the intersection of Reed and Spencer Roads. Dozens of trees were downed along the damage path which was no more than 100 yards in width. A few homes and buildings sustained minor damage, mainly from lost roofing or siding.

A devastating tornado moved across portions of northern Wood County during the late evening hours of June 5th. The tornado reached a peak intensity of EF4 and was responsible for the deaths of seven people. Five of the victims died immediately with the other two passing away from their injuries at later dates. The initial touchdown occurred east of Perrysburg along Oregon Road just to the north of the Ohio Turnpike. The tornado then moved east northeast toward Toledo Metcalf Field as an EF0 to EF1. The tornado intensified to an EF2 as it crossed East Broadway Street. Over two dozen homes in a neighborhood bordered by East Broadway to the west and State Route 795 to the north and east were heavily damaged or destroyed. The worst of the damage was along Shawnee and Neill Avenues in this neighborhood. The tornado then crossed State Route 795 and followed the highway toward Metcalf Field. The tornado intensified to EF3 at that time. Several homes along Moline-Martin Road were destroyed between State Route 795 and Metcalf Field. An occupant of one of the homes, an 87 year old man, was injured by the tornado and later died. As the tornado approached Metcalf Field it crossed a railroad yard and overturned a couple dozen railroad cars. The tornado then moved across the southern end of the airport grounds and destroyed the Lake Township Administrative and Police Department building located just northwest of the intersection of Cummings Road and State Route 795. A 20 year old female was killed by the tornado just outside of the police department. She had left her vehicle along with her boyfriend and child to seek refuge in the police station. She was caught outside and was reportedly killed by flying debris. At the police station, the tornado destroyed at least six police vehicles and one emergency response vehicle. The emergency response vehicle was found over 1000 feet away from its original position. One police vehicle was found wrapped around a large tree. After doing extensive damage to an agricultural business, the tornado struck the Lake Local School District complex along State Route 795 and Lemoyne Road. Lake High School took a direct hit from the tornado and was damaged enough to be considered destroyed. The nearby middle and elementary schools sustained considerable roof damage. The high school gymnasium was scheduled to hold a commencement ceremony for the graduating senior class on June 6th. Large sections of the gymnasium collapsed. A field house, cafeteria and auditorium adjacent to the high school were destroyed. At least eight school buses were overturned and destroyed by the tornado. The tornado continued to move parallel to and just north of State Route 795 at EF3 intensity. A 56 year old female was killed by flying debris while driving her car on State Route 795 near the school complex. The woman's daughters were following in another car which was also destroyed. The daughters both sustained minor injuries. The tornado continued east northeast and crossed Interstate 280 just north of the State Route 795 interchange before moving across open fields for about a mile. The tornado may have briefly weakened to EF2 intensity, but then strengthened back to EF3 intensity as it crossed Bradner Road to the west of Millbury. The tornado destroyed several homes in a neighborhood bordered by Bradner Road to the west and Cherry Street to the south. A 47 year old man was killed in house on Case Road in this neighborhood. The man's daughter was the valedictorian of the graduating senior class at Lake High School which was destroyed by the tornado. The tornado then intensified to EF4 as it approached Main Street on the north side of Millbury. Over a dozen homes were destroyed or heavily damaged along Main Street. A 36 year old woman and her four year old son were killed in one of the destroyed homes on Main Street. The woman's 37 year old husband died on June 12th from injuries sustained from the tornado. Several more homes were destroyed or heavily damaged on Hille Drive and Woodville Road before the tornado crossed North Fostoria Road and moved into Ottawa County as a weak EF3 or strong EF2 tornado. This tornado was on the ground for around six and a half miles in Wood County and destroyed or heavily damaged over 60 homes. Dozens of additional homes sustained minor damage with another couple hundred homes affected by the storm. Dozens of vehicles were also destroyed. Hundreds of trees were toppled or snapped by the tornado along the damage path which was up to 400 yards in width. The tornado debarked some of the larger trees along the damage path. At least one high tension utility pole was toppled by the tornado and widespread power outages occurred in Millbury and Walbridge. Damage to the Lake Township infrastructure was estimated at five million dollars with tens of millions of losses to the Lake Local School District. The exact number of injuries caused by this tornado is unknown, but at least 17 people had to be hospitalized in nearby Toledo. Debris from this tornado has been found dozens of miles away, including on some of the islands in western Lake Erie.

A strong tornado moved into western Ottawa County from Wood County during the late evening hours of June 5th. The tornado entered the county at 11:30 pm EDT as a weak EF3 or strong EF2 tornado. A couple homes on Trowbridge Road just east of the county line were heavily damaged. The tornado then continued east northeast to just north of the intersection of Billman and Trowbridge Roads where a few more homes were significantly damaged. After crossing Billman Road, the tornado took a turn to the right and intensified back to EF3. The tornado crossed Reiman Road just south of Trowbridge Road and finally lifted just before reaching Bolander Road. Around a dozen homes near the intersection of Trowbridge Road and Reiman Road were damaged. In Ottawa County, a total of 11 homes were destroyed with another 14 homes sustaining major damage from the tornado. Around 20 additional homes sustained lesser damages. This tornado was on the ground in Ottawa County for just over two and a quarter miles and had a maximum width of around 200 yards. Two injuries were reported.

A thunderstorm downburst downed trees from northeast of Elmore to near Oak Harbor.

A thunderstorm downburst with winds estimated to be at least 60 mph downed dozens of trees across the northern third of Ottawa County during the early morning hours of June 6th. A few homes and buildings sustained minor damage, mainly from lost roofing or siding.

Thunderstorm winds downed a tree and a power pole.

Thunderstorm winds downed several tree limbs in Perkins Township.

Thunderstorm winds downed a couple large tree limbs.

Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs.

An EF1 tornado touched down in eastern Ashtabula County. The initial touchdown occurred southwest of Andover near the intersection of Mann and Creek Roads. The tornado then traveled east northeast for approximately four and a half miles before lifting near the intersection of Pymatuning Lake Road and State Route 85. The tornado moved across the south side of Andover and then crossed Main Street just east of town. Significant tree damage was observed southwest of Andover. A barn in the area was heavily damaged. A warehouse on the southeast side of Andover was damaged and many trees in the area toppled. Several homes in the town sustained damage, mainly from lost roofing or siding. Many cars were also damaged from flying debris or downed limbs. Dozens of downed trees were also reported along the remainder of the damage path. Several boats were tossed into Pymatuning Reservoir just as the tornado lifted. The tornado may not have been in continuous contact with the ground the entire length of the damage path. The damage path was no more than 100 yards in width.