Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2004

F1 tornado, Peebles, Ohio, May 30, 2004

This F1 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Adams County on May 30, 2004, touching down at 1:30 AM EDT and reaching 33 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $10,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

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

  2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

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

  3. F2113 to 157 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. F3158 to 206 mph

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

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

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

  6. F5261 to 318 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. Unrated

    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.

The record

Rating
F1
Date
May 30, 2004
Touchdown
1:30 AM EDT (05:30 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
33 yards (30 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$10,000
County
Adams County
Touchdown point
38.920, -83.400
Lift-off point
38.920, -83.400
Record number
173

What the Weather Service recorded

A tornado briefly touched down, uprooting and twisting numerous trees. A fence was also destroyed.

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

The warnings

21 minutes of warning. NWS ILN issued a tornado warning for this county at 05:09 UTC, 21 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 05:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
05:09 UTC05:45 UTCTornado WarningILN

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:38 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 00:00Z

5.5 hours before the tornado, 66 km from the path. May 31, 2004.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 778 joules per kilogram, CIN -28, lifted condensation level 710 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 316 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
778 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Surface CAPE
535 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
710 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
316 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
399 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
9.6
0-3 km lapse rate
4.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 12:00Z

6.5 hours after it, 66 km from the path. May 31, 2004.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2004-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 506 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2004-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 175 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 41 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
506 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
175 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
110 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Wilmington (ILN), 66 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
03:54 UTC6865170° 9 kt1004.1VCTS
04:27 UTC69.864.4170° 10 kt1003
04:54 UTC6965180° 11 kt1002.7
05:08 UTC69.864.4180° 10 kt1002.4VCTS
05:30 UTC66.264.4290° 10 kt311005.1+TSRA BR
05:35 UTC66.264.4320° 7 kt231004.4+TSRA BR
05:44 UTC66.264.4360° 8 kt1003.4-TSRA
05:54 UTC656430° 5 kt1003.4RA
06:24 UTC64.462.60° 0 kt1003-RA
06:54 UTC6563140° 3 kt1002.4-RA
07:12 UTC64.462.6170° 8 kt1002.4-RA
07:27 UTC64.464.4180° 9 kt1002.4-RA

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

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
05:01 UTCTSTM WND DMGGeorgetownBrown, OHTREES AND POWER LINE DOWN
05:01 UTCTSTM WND DMGGeorgetownBrown, OHTREES AND POWER LINE DOWN
05:01 UTCTSTM WND DMGMount OrabBrown, OHTREES, POWER LINE DOWN, AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
05:01 UTCDENSE FOGMount OrabBrown, OHTREES, POWER LINE DOWN, AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
05:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGLynchburgClinton, OHTREE DOWN
05:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGLynchburgClinton, OHTREE DOWN
05:26 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 S West UnionAdams, OHNUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN SOUTHERN PART OF COUNTY. BARN MOVED TO ROADWAY.
05:26 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 S West UnionAdams, OHNUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN SOUTHERN PART OF COUNTY. BARN MOVED TO ROADWAY.
05:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG10 E HillsboroHighland, OHTREE DOWN NEAR ROCKY FORK STATE PARK
05:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG10 E HillsboroHighland, OHTREE DOWN NEAR ROCKY FORK STATE PARK

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2004 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 30, 2004

80 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 301:42 AM CDTF0Wagoner, OK3.5300$10,000
May 301:51 AM CDTF1Mayes, OK7.2600$30,000
May 306:45 AM CDTF1Grundy, TN1.010$30,000
May 309:37 AM CDTF0Tazewell, IL0.110
May 3012:15 PM CDTF0McCracken, KY1.550$20,000
May 301:05 PM ESTF1Owen, IN8.475$300,000
May 301:33 PM ESTF0Fountain, IN0.130
May 302:09 PM ESTF1Monroe, IN7.075$250,000
May 302:18 PM CDTF0Lee, IA0.340$3,000
May 302:22 PM CDTF0Todd, KY0.550
May 302:23 PM CDTF1Lee, IA0.370$20,000
May 302:25 PM ESTF3Crawford, IN15.0400111$5.0 million
May 302:26 PM CDTF0Lee, IA0.340$10,000
May 302:30 PM CDTF1Lee, IA0.570$20,000
May 303:30 PM EDTF1Clark, IN2.010$500,000
May 303:40 PM EDTF0Floyd, IN3.810
May 302:40 PM CDTF2Hopkins, KY7.0175$300,000
May 303:10 PM ESTF1Washington, IN10.630$120,000
May 303:12 PM CDTF0Daviess, KY0.130
May 303:23 PM CDTF0Shannon, MO0.150
May 303:28 PM CDTF0Benton, IA0.240
May 303:35 PM CDTF0Sherburne, MN0.530
May 303:36 PM CDTF1Iowa, IA0.250$10,000
May 303:50 PM CDTF0Buchanan, IA0.230
May 303:51 PM CDTF0Buchanan, IA0.340$10,000
May 303:53 PM CDTF1Laclede, MO1.0200$10,000
May 303:56 PM CDTF0Jones, IA0.330
May 304:05 PM CDTF1Madison, IL2.070
May 305:27 PM EDTF0Jefferson, KY0.330$100,000
May 304:50 PM CDTF1Clinton, IL7.080
May 304:55 PM ESTF0Clay, IN0.125
May 305:05 PM CDTF1Woodford, IL9.075
May 305:10 PM CDTF0Fayette, IL0.140
May 305:20 PM CDTF1Saint Louis, MO2.0501$100,000
May 305:45 PM CDTF0Reynolds, MO0.140
May 305:57 PM CDTF0Logan, IL0.1403$250,000
May 306:00 PM ESTF0Morgan, IN0.150$10,000
May 307:05 PM EDTF0Powell, KY0.117
May 306:10 PM ESTF1Morgan, IN5.075$20,000
May 306:11 PM CDTF1Livingston, IL12.050
May 306:12 PM CDTF0Livingston, IL0.220
May 306:24 PM CDTF1Washington, IL4.570
May 306:25 PM CDTF1Washington, IL3.580
May 306:25 PM CDTF1Perry, IL12.075$250,000
May 306:26 PM CDTF1Washington, IL4.0100
May 306:27 PM CDTF1Washington, IL4.570
May 306:28 PM CDTF1Washington, IL18.575$100,000
May 306:30 PM ESTF0Hendricks, IN0.850
May 306:32 PM CDTF0Livingston, IL0.220
May 306:32 PM CDTF0Jackson, IL0.550
May 306:32 PM ESTF0Hendricks, IN4.175
May 306:40 PM CDTF0Livingston, IL1.020
May 307:00 PM CDTF1Nevada, AR10.0100$80,000
May 307:00 PM ESTF2Marion, IN20.010026$19 million
May 307:13 PM CDTF0Clay, IL0.250
May 307:19 PM CDTF0Clay, IL0.250
May 307:26 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe, IN0.120
May 307:28 PM CDTF0Goodhue, MN0.525
May 307:28 PM CDTF0Chisago, MN0.325
May 307:29 PM ESTF2Tippecanoe, IN1.875$1.0 million

All 81 of them

What this means

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.

Sources

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