Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2010

EF0 tornado, East Mansfield to Lucas, Ohio, June 5, 2010

From East Mansfield to Lucas, this EF0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Richland County on June 5, 2010, touching down at 1:46 PM EDT and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $35,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

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

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    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. 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
EF0
Date
June 5, 2010
Touchdown
1:46 PM EDT (17:46 UTC)
Lifted
1:47 PM EDT (17:47 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.5 miles (0.7 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$35,000
County
Richland County
Touchdown point
40.739, -82.439
Lift-off point
40.736, -82.432
Record number
1006051146-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A stationary frontal system stretched across the lower Great Lakes on the morning of Saturday, June 5th. This resulted in a very warm and humid airmass over northern Ohio. Outflow boundaries from earlier storms interacted with the stationary front to initiate thunderstorm development during the afternoon hours across inland northern Ohio. One of the stronger thunderstorms produced tornadoes in Richland and Holmes Counties. There were also a few reports of straight line thunderstorm wind damage. A rapidly deepening area of low pressure moved quickly east across southern lower Michigan during the evening hours. This low eventually moved across Lake Erie during the early morning hours of the 6th. Showers and thunderstorms developed across northern Indiana during the evening hours. These storms intensified and moved east along the stationary front and into Northwest Ohio. A devastating EF4 tornado developed over Wood County a little before midnight. This tornado moved into Ottawa County before dissipating. Seven people were killed and dozens of homes destroyed by the tornado. A weaker tornado also moved across portions of Lucas County. A third round of storms developed during the early morning hours of the 6th ahead of a cold front trailing the low. These storms moved across northern Ohio and produced pockets of damage. An EF1 tornado occurred in Ashtabula County around daybreak. A total of five tornadoes occurred in northern Ohio on June 5th and 6th. These tornadoes killed seven people, injured dozens and destroyed or damaged over a 100 homes. A school and a public administration building were also leveled. Damage estimates easily topped $100 million.

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.

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

The warnings

5 minutes of warning. NWS CLE issued a tornado warning for this county at 17:41 UTC, 5 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 18:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
10:00 UTC10:19 UTCFlash Flood WatchCLE
17:32 UTC18:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLE
17:41 UTC18:30 UTCTornado WarningCLE
17:58 UTC20:41 UTCFlash Flood WarningCLE
18:12 UTC22:09 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchCLE
20:48 UTC03:00 UTCFlood AdvisoryCLE

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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:29 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), 12:00Z

5.8 hours before the tornado, 186 km from the path. June 5, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2010-06-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2452 joules per kilogram, CIN -18, lifted condensation level 589 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 12:00Z on 2010-06-05The 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 116 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 knots.193958Sfc1 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
2452 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1336 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
8.5
0-3 km lapse rate
5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

6.2 hours after it, 186 km from the path. June 6, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2010-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2440 joules per kilogram, CIN -4, lifted condensation level 829 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 2010-06-06The 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 126 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 20 knots.193958Sfc1 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
2440 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3442 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
829 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
126 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
207 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
6.5
0-3 km lapse rate
6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Mansfield (MFD), 12 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
15:52 UTC7669210° 11 kt1009.1
16:52 UTC7468240° 5 kt1009.5-RA
17:12 UTC73.4680° 0 kt1008.8VCTS -RA
17:19 UTC73.4680° 0 kt1008.8VCTS RA
17:24 UTC71.669.830° 6 kt1008.5VCTS +RA BR
17:34 UTC69.868360° 16 kt1008.8+TSRA FG
17:52 UTC6867 4 kt1009.1+TSRA FG
18:04 UTC69.866.2310° 9 kt1009.5+TSRA FG
18:11 UTC69.866.2310° 5 kt1009.5+RA BR
18:27 UTC69.866.2290° 6 kt1009.1RA BR
18:35 UTC69.866.2280° 6 kt1009.1-RA BR
18:47 UTC69.868260° 5 kt1009.5-RA BR
18:52 UTC7068260° 5 kt1009.5-RA
19:04 UTC71.668250° 6 kt1009.5RA BR
19:18 UTC71.666.2250° 8 kt1009.1-RA BR
19:25 UTC71.668260° 6 kt1009.1-RA BR

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

The radar

The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:46 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.

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
17:51 UTCTORNADO3 Nne LucasRichland, OHPOSSIBLE TORNADO. BARN DESTROYED. TIME ESTIMATED.
18:40 UTCTSTM WND DMGBerlinHolmes, OHLARGE WOODEN SIGN BLEW OFF ROOF UNTO CARS. NUMEROUS LARGE TREES DOWN.
19:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Se GambierKnox, OHA FEW TREES DOWN.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 5, 2010

42 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 52:30 PM EDTEF1Orleans, VT2.183$25,000
June 52:40 PM EDTEF1Holmes, OH12.8100$550,000
June 54:14 PM EDTEF0Coos, NH0.140
June 55:19 PM EDTEF1Oxford, ME4.2300
June 56:11 PM CDTEF0Warren, IA1.130
June 57:34 PM CDTEF0Knox, IL0.110
June 57:40 PM CDTEF1Jackson, IA2.21501$250,000
June 57:56 PM CDTEF2Knox, IL5.750$420,000
June 58:00 PM CDTEF0Clinton, IA0.4100
June 58:04 PM CDTEF2Peoria, IL2.150$85 million
June 58:10 PM CDTEF1Peoria, IL4.9100$85,000
June 58:10 PM CDTEF2Putnam, IL8.0880$1.0 million
June 58:18 PM CDTEF1Peoria, IL3.975$170,000
June 58:28 PM CDTEF0LaSalle, IL1.330$5,000
June 58:32 PM CDTEF0LaSalle, IL0.250
June 58:32 PM CDTEF0Peoria, IL2.0100$100,000
June 58:34 PM CDTEF2Marshall, IL17.680017$7.0 million
June 58:50 PM CDTEF0LaSalle, IL0.120
June 58:51 PM CDTEF2Tazewell, IL0.8250$560,000
June 58:53 PM CDTEF2Woodford, IL2.3250$70,000
June 58:58 PM CDTEF3Livingston, IL8.6440$750,000
June 59:12 PM CDTEF2Livingston, IL6.0300113$3.0 million
June 59:16 PM CDTEF0Livingston, IL2.420$100,000
June 59:31 PM CDTEF0Livingston, IL3.820$20,000
June 510:38 PM EDTEF2Fulton, OH7.2700$500,000
June 511:00 PM EDTEF1Lucas, OH3.4100$75,000
June 510:02 PM CDTEF1Kankakee, IL0.630$500,000
June 510:08 PM CDTEF0Livingston, IL0.450$2,000
June 510:18 PM CDTEF3Kankakee, IL7.81751$600,000
June 510:19 PM CDTEF1Kankakee, IL0.650$75,000
June 511:20 PM EDTEF4Millbury tornado, OH8.8400728$102 million
June 511:28 PM EDTEF2Berrien, MI3.4200$150,000
June 511:36 PM EDTEF1Berrien, MI1.4100$100,000
June 510:57 PM CDTEF0Logan, IL5.9300$80,000
June 511:59 PM EDTEF2Cass, MI2.7200$100,000
June 512:03 AM EDTEF1Calhoun, MI1.6300$2.0 million
June 511:06 PM CDTEF0DeWitt, IL5.9300$90,000
June 512:32 AM EDTEF2Saint Joseph, MI10.7200$300,000
June 51:03 AM EDTEF1White, IN12.61502$600,000
June 51:25 AM EDTEF1Carroll, IN6.31501$185,000
June 51:41 AM EDTEF3Miami, IN7.52501$875,000
June 51:48 AM EDTEF1Lenawee, MI2.5250$500,000

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.