Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain developed ahead of a weak cold front.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS ILN wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain developed ahead of a weak cold front.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 17, 8:43 AM EST, 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington OH 943 AM EDT WED AUG 17 2016 .SYNOPSIS... An area of convergent flow in a moist airmass will keep an increased chance of showers along a now nebulous front oriented along the I-71 corridor this morning. This area will move southeast today and a relative lull in activity is expected through early Saturday. More widespread storms will again occur later Saturday ahead of a cold front that will cross the region Sunday, finally providing an actual dry and more comfortable stretch of weather to the region. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... Widespread pcpn is working its way across primarily southern portions of our fa this morning. This is associated with a nice 850-700 mb deformation axis that is forecast to shift off to the east/southeast of us through the afternoon hours. Thus, expect to see the more widespread pcpn gradually taper off from west to east as we head through late morning and on into this afternoon. Will then just hang on to some low chances for pcpn through the rest of the afternoon as forcing is weak and instability may be limited. With PWs still up around 2 inches, some locally heavy rainfall will still be possible today. Will stick with highs generally in the low 80s. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... Drier conditions will filter in tonight as upper level flow shifts the systems eastward yet does not have enough to scour the airmass out. Slightly drier airmass will be found over the region starting Wednesday night and continuing through the Friday night. PWAT values will still be 1.5" or so and with any daytime heating, storms cannot be ruled out entirely for any late day period, with a possible exception of Thursday where storms should remain out of the CWA due to a lack of any real forcing mechanism. Friday storm coverage will still be isolated to scattered in nature in a continued nebulous pattern. Overnight lows will bottom out in the upper 60s and highs will reach the mid 80s. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... By Thursday morning, the upper-level weather pattern across the CONUS will be flattening out, and the greatest of the deep moisture over the southeastern states will be shunted a little further to the south, and not directly over the Ohio Valley. However, surface ridging will remain in place, keeping a generally warm and moist pattern from completely exiting the region. This will lead to a lower overall chance of precipitation, but very little change in daily temperatures and dewpoints going into the weekend. Weak convective precipitation appears possible on Thursday, mainly in the northern sections of the CWA. Increasing moisture from the south late in the day on Friday will result in chances of precipitation again, though mainly in the southern half of the forecast area late in the day. A wetter pattern will again set up over the weekend, as a large upper trough deepens over the central states. There is solid model agreement in an increased chance of showers and storms on both Saturday and Sunday, but there remain some timing differences regarding the eventual passage of a cold front (along with a surface low moving through the Great Lakes). While the 12Z GFS is still notably quicker than the 12Z ECMWF, both models have shifted a little toward a common mean, suggesting that the greatest potential for precipitation may be early on Sunday. Surface high pressure is expected to move in behind the cold front, with drier conditions for Monday and Tuesday. && .AVIATION /14Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Moisture continues to lift up the stalled frontal boundary over the region. Pcpn overnight has been light and generally spotting. Models lift the convection down by SDF ne this morning, generally running it along I-71. Pcpn should affect the majority of the tafs through the morning hours. Since there is lighting in the convection attm, carried VCTS for KCVG/KLUK and KILN. CIGS have been all over the place, bouncing from vfr to ifr and back. Time sections are still trying to show very low cigs this morning. For locations that are vfr, brought cigs down to mvfr in the pcpn this morning, but confidence is low on exactly where they will set up. There could be some lingering showers this afternoon before the pcpn gets shunted eastward along with H5 vorticity maxima. The cigs will gradually rise in the afternoon, with the tafs reaching vfr conditions between 21-00Z. OUTLOOK...Thunderstorms possible Saturday afternoon into Sunday. && .ILN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...None. KY...None. IN...None. && SYNOPSIS...Franks NEAR TERM...JGL SHORT TERM...Franks LONG TERM...Hatzos AVIATION...Sites
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 945 AM EDT WED AUG 17 2016 INZ050-058-059-066-OHZ026-034-035-042>046-051>056-060>062-070-181345- WAYNE-FAYETTE IN-UNION IN-FRANKLIN IN-HARDIN-MERCER-AUGLAIZE-DARKE- SHELBY-LOGAN-UNION OH-DELAWARE-MIAMI-CHAMPAIGN-CLARK-MADISON- FRANKLIN OH-LICKING-PREBLE-MONTGOMERY-GREENE-BUTLER- 945 AM EDT WED AUG 17 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL INDIANA...SOUTHEAST INDIANA...CENTRAL OHIO...SOUTHWEST OHIO AND WEST CENTRAL OHIO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A LOW PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. INZ073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ063>065-071>074-077>082-088-181345- RIPLEY-DEARBORN-OHIO-SWITZERLAND-CARROLL-GALLATIN-BOONE-KENTON- CAMPBELL-OWEN-GRANT-PENDLETON-BRACKEN-ROBERTSON-MASON-LEWIS- FAYETTE OH-PICKAWAY-FAIRFIELD-WARREN-CLINTON-ROSS-HOCKING-HAMILTON- CLERMONT-BROWN-HIGHLAND-ADAMS-PIKE-SCIOTO- 945 AM EDT WED AUG 17 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST INDIANA...NORTHEAST KENTUCKY...NORTHERN KENTUCKY...CENTRAL OHIO AND SOUTHWEST OHIO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. THERE IS A LOW PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1005 AM EDT WED AUG 17 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0955 AM FLOOD VERSAILLES 39.06N 85.26W
08/17/2016 RIPLEY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
HIGH WATER REPORTED ON A FEW ROADS ACROSS THE COUNTY.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1007 AM EDT WED AUG 17 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0957 AM FLOOD LAWRENCEBURG 39.09N 84.86W
08/17/2016 DEARBORN IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
HIGH WATER REPORTED ON US 50.
&&The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:16 UTC.
17 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
High water was reported across the Norwood Lateral near Montgomery Road.
High water was reported up to the bottom of cars at the intersection of Harrison Ave. and Rybolt Rd.
Over one foot of water was reported over Sutton Road.
One to two feet of water was reported on Wooster Pike.
A weak tornado touched down on the west side of Sardinia near Highway 24B (Maple Ave) and moved east-northeast through the village, ending on the northeast side of town near Highway 32 (Appalachian Highway).
The beginning of the tornado track was marked by scattered broken tree branches generally 3 to 6 inches in diameter. These branches tended to fall in a narrow corridor indicating convergence along the track. This was the primary damage observed near Maple Ave as it entered the western portion of Sardinia up to just south of the|intersection with Broad Street. A few slightly larger branches up to approximately 8 inches in diameter were broken as the tornado moved just south of Winchester Street. Wind speeds of approximately 60 to 70 mph likely caused much of this damage.
The tornado appeared to strengthen and widen as it continued to move near and just south of Sardinia-Mowrystown Road in Sardinia. Minor structural damage became more evident in this area and larger trees were broken. A gas station pump was dislodged from its base near the intersection with Winchester Street, and a section of roofing|approximately 45 feet by 10 feet was partially removed from a storage barn 100 yards to the east-northeast. Tree limbs, 4 to 7 inches in diameter, were broken across the street in the cemetery and fell south toward the center line of the track. Three large trees approximately 12-18 inches in diameter were uprooted and oriented toward the northeast on the south side of Sardinia-Mowrystown Road, near the intersection with Kelly Street. Wind speeds of 65 to 75 mph likely brought down these trees, though wet soils also contributed.
A brick chimney was also partially destroyed on a nearby house. An overall convergent debris pattern was evident in this area, especially with the tree damage.
The tornado then started to weaken just before dissipating east of Brookfield Place near Highway 32 (Appalachian Highway). A metal carport approximately 20 feet by 12 feet was lifted from the north side of Brookfield Place near the intersection with Meadow View, carried across Brookfield Place, and dropped on the south side of|the road. Leaf splatter was also observed on the west-facing side of a motor home near where the carport was dropped. An eyewitness at this location described a column of rotating debris associated with the tornado. Minor tree damage was noted at the east end of Brookfield Place, after which the tornado dissipated. Wind speeds in|this area were likely 60 to 70 mph.
High water was reported entering at least one home and one motorist required rescue from high water. Most of the flash flooding was reported in Pierce Township.
A large tree was knocked down on a shed.
An estimated one to two feet of water was covering Zachary Drive in Williamsburg.
As much as one foot of water was reported on Gath Rd. near State Route 321 west of Mowrystown. High water was also reported on Seamer Road.
Fair Ridge Road was impassible due to high water as deep as one foot.
High moving water had completely inundated Upper Five Mile Rd.
High water was reported rushing over Grays Lane near New Richmond.
Ohio State Route 785, just south of Belfast, had a culvert underneath it washed out, which washed away the road. The road will be closed for 2 to 3 months.
Numerous reports of high water were still being reported from Pierce Township through the Amelia area.
Water was reported rushing over Hizer Road.
A few large tree limbs were knocked down.
A large tree was downed across Henry Deemer Road in Union Township.
Very deep moving water was still being reported along Peach Orchard Road and State Route 73 near Belfast.
High water was reported rushing over Lawshe Road near Route 41.
Water was reported rising up to houses and over the banks of a small stream.
Water was surrounding a home and a pickup truck was stranded in high water along Waits Road north of Mt. Orab.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Ohio, 2016Warnings in Ohio, August 2016
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 645380, 643936, 643937, 643941, 643982, 643946, 643984, 643949, 643956, 643957, 643958, 643959, 643963, 643965, 643966, 643983, 643976, 643967, 643970, 643971, 643972.