Ohio, 2024

Tornado in Ohio, March 5, 2024

March 5, 2024 · NWS IWX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A brief EF-0 land spout tornado occurred south of Leipsic, Ohio on the afternoon of March 5th. Several photos and videos were taken of the tornado along SR65 near the intersection with Road H5.

Where it happened

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  • Heat and drought
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$75,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS IWX wrote it up.

A brief EF-0 land spout tornado occurred south of Leipsic, Ohio on the afternoon of March 5th. Several photos and videos were taken of the tornado along SR65 near the intersection with Road H5. The tornado caused damage to one home on Road H5, with loss of the roof, shingles, and some siding. A poorly built attached garage collapsed, and debris could be seen scattered to the northeast of the home. The tornado quickly dissipated in an open field just north of the intersection of Road H5 and Road 5H, just east of SR65.

What forecasters said that day

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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 5, 2:06 PM EST, 28 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • * Scattered showers and chances for a few storms will continue into this evening along and southeast of the US 24 corridor. * Quiet wx Wednesday into Thursday with highs in the upper 40s to mid 50s. * Several rounds of rain likely Friday into Saturday.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 2:06 PM EST, 28 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
206 PM EST Tue Mar 5 2024

.KEY MESSAGES...

* Scattered showers and chances for a few storms will continue into
  this evening along and southeast of the US 24 corridor.

* Quiet wx Wednesday into Thursday with highs in the upper 40s to
  mid 50s.

* Several rounds of rain likely Friday into Saturday.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 205 PM EST Tue Mar 5 2024

Scattered showers and non-zero chances for a few embedded storms
will remain in the forecast generally along and south of the US 24
corridor into this evening. The low level convergence along a frontal
boundary, and ample moisture, responsible for this activity will
finally sink off to the southeast later tonight. This will leave
dry/quiet wx into Wednesday and Thursday as high pressure translates
east through Ontario and the northern Great Lakes. How quickly low
clouds mix out will determine highs on Wednesday with lingering
boundary layer moisture potentially slow to mix out under a
developing subsidence inversion.

Decent rain chances return Friday into Saturday in response to
excellent moisture return in advance of a southwest US upper trough
that will track northeast toward the OH Valley and southern Great
Lakes, eventually getting absorbed into a deepening upper low
dropping south into the Great Lakes this weekend. This may allow a
couple of surface frontal waves to lift through with period of rain,
best chances Friday into Friday night as a secondary low may develop
more to the east by this weekend. Turning cooler and breezy behind
this system otherwise.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 1155 AM EST Tue Mar 5 2024

LIFR ceilings and visibilities prevail at KSBN currently, with
visibilities down to 1/4 mile due to fog and 200ft ceilings. The
fog should only last for the next few hours, but LIFR to IFR
ceilings will persist through 00Z Wednesday. At KFWA, MVFR
ceilings dominate as showers are in the vicinity. Some
reductions in visibility down to 4-5 miles are possible this
afternoon, but not expecting as dense fog as KSBN. Should
visibilities drop lower, this will be handled with an amendment
to the TAF. Clouds will continue to build in, as ceilings drop
to IFR by 22Z at KFWA. At both terminals, winds will shift (from
NW to NE at KSBN, from SW to NE at KFWA) this evening with
gusts up to 15kts possible. Ceilings will slowly come back up
overnight and into tomorrow morning, with VFR conditions by the
end of the TAF cycle at KSBN.

&&

.IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...None.
OH...None.
MI...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM EST Wednesday for LMZ043-046.

&&

DISCUSSION...Steinwedel
AVIATION...Johnson
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 5, 1:07 PM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
107 PM EST Tue Mar 5 2024

INZ018-025>027-032>034-OHZ004-005-015-016-024-025-061815-
Allen IN-Huntington-Wells-Adams-Grant-Blackford-Jay-Defiance-Henry-
Paulding-Putnam-Van Wert-Allen OH-
107 PM EST Tue Mar 5 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northern Indiana and
northwest Ohio.

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

There is chance for scattered thunderstorms this afternoon into
early this evening. Locally heavy downpours and lightning are the
primary hazards. Severe storms are not expected.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

INZ005>009-012>015-017-020-022>024-103-104-116-203-204-216-
MIZ078>081-177-277-OHZ001-002-061815-
Elkhart-Lagrange-Steuben-Noble-De Kalb-Starke-Pulaski-Marshall-
Fulton IN-Whitley-White-Cass IN-Miami-Wabash-Northern La Porte-
Eastern St. Joseph IN-Northern Kosciusko-Southern La Porte-
Western St. Joseph IN-Southern Kosciusko-Cass MI-St. Joseph MI-
Branch-Hillsdale-Northern Berrien-Southern Berrien-Williams-
Fulton OH-
107 PM EST Tue Mar 5 2024 /1207 PM CST Tue Mar 5 2024/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northern Indiana, southwest
Michigan and northwest Ohio.

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

LMZ043-046-061815-
New Buffalo MI to St Joseph MI-Michigan City IN to New Buffalo MI-
107 PM EST Tue Mar 5 2024

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM EST WEDNESDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the nearshore waters of
southeastern Lake Michigan.

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Small Craft Advisory.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday.

Conditions hazardous to small craft are possible this weekend.

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 148 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Putnam

When
March 5, 2:34 PM EST to 2:35 PM EST
Where
Putnam County, 2 mi N of Ottawa Putnam Co Arp to 2.06 mi N of Ottawa Putnam Co Arp
Rating
EF0
Path length
0.24 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$75,000
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
41.059, -83.981

A brief EF-0 land spout with winds estimated at 70 mph was confirmed near Leipsic, OH. Emergency manager and trained spotters confirmed tornado. Several photos and videos of the land spout along SR65. One home near the intersection of Road H5 and SR65 sustained damage to the roof and siding. An attached garage collapsed and debris was scattered to the northeast of the property. Time was estimated from radar.

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Ohio, 2024Warnings in Ohio, March 2024

Sources

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: 1197019.