Unrated tornado, Blaine to Portland, Indiana, September 22, 2024

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. EF3136 to 165 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. EF5over 200 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unratedthis tornado

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

Unrated

Date

September 22, 2024

Touchdown

7:42 PM EDT (23:42 UTC)

Lifted

7:44 PM EDT (23:44 UTC)

On the ground

2 minutes

Path length

0.2 miles (0.3 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Jay County

Touchdown point

40.427, -85.038

Lift-off point

40.427, -85.034

Record number

2409221742-01

15 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS IWX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EFU. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

• Start of Portland tornado. Stubbing of hardwood treetops here.
• Trees uprooted and snapped southwest of Portland high school
• Portland high school suffered considerable roof damage
• Several hardwood trees snapped adjacent to high school

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

An EF1 tornado occurred late in the day on September 22nd. No lightning was detected from this very shallow shower, but debris was detected on doppler radar. A storm damage survey was completed the following day. An additional tornado was noted just upstream of the EF1's location.

Drone footage shows evidence of a short track tornado in a corn field just east of the Salamonie river south of CR W 75 before it dissipated. Given the lack of an defined DI, the tornado will be classified as an EFU.

A tornado developed near the intersection of W 75 S and Joan Dr and quickly gained|intensity as it tracked east-northeast, hitting the Portland High School which sustained considerable roof damage. Several homes nearby sustained roof damage along with considerable tree damage noted along the track of this tornado. As the tornado was dissipating it caused extensive roof damage to the second story portion of the American Legion. Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be around 110 mph.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

NWS Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Sep 22, 2:28 PM EDT, 5 hours 14 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

• Rain this afternoon and evening will taper off tonight.
• Additional rain arrives Monday night through Tuesday.
• Cooler temperatures this week with highs in the 70s.

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
228 PM EDT Sun Sep 22 2024

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Rain this afternoon and evening will taper off tonight.

- Additional rain arrives Monday night through Tuesday.

- Cooler temperatures this week with highs in the 70s.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 123 PM EDT Sun Sep 22 2024

A surface low centered over southern Lake Michigan combined with
lift associated with a weak from and dewpoints rising to around
70 is causing moderate rain showers to move across the area this
afternoon. There may be a few embeded thunderstorms, but severe
weather is not expected due to limited instability and only
marginal shear. A cold front will move through later tonight and
showers will taper off from west to east, leaving Monday dry
and much cooler. High temperatures will only be in the low 70s.
However, a shortwave will move up from the southwest on Monday
night, bringing more rain for Tuesday, with lingering showers
possible on Wednesday.

By Thursday, the region will again be stuck between low pressure
system and high pressure will build back in. Temperatures will
warm, although it will not be as hot as last week, with highs
confined mainly to the upper 70s or low 80s. There is some
uncertainty though as to whether or not we will be dry. This
will depend on the track of a cutoff low to the south and if any
shortwaves rotate far enough north to bring convection into the
area. The best chances for more rain will probably be next
weekend.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z MONDAY/...
Issued at 1216 PM EDT Sun Sep 22 2024

Continued moist advection ewd of low pressure advancing out IL
will yield a gradual deterioration in flight conditions this
period. Better forcing timed with greatest moisture flux arises
late day with a period of shra expected before post frontal flow
develops this evening. This will bring about widespread
IFR/stratus overnight extending into Mon am.

&&

.IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...Beach Hazards Statement from 7 PM CDT this evening through
     Monday afternoon for INZ103.
OH...None.
MI...Beach Hazards Statement from 8 PM EDT this evening through
     Monday afternoon for MIZ177-277.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 5 PM EDT Monday
     for LMZ043-046.

&&

DISCUSSION...Cobb
AVIATION...T

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Portland (PLD), 5 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in IndianaEvery tornado in Indiana since 1950Warnings in force in Indiana nowThe forecast where you are

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.