Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2011

EF0 tornado, Lacarne to Chimney, Ohio, April 19, 2011

From Lacarne to Chimney, this EF0 tornado ran 1.5 miles across Ottawa County on April 19, 2011, touching down at 12:55 AM EDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 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
April 19, 2011
Touchdown
12:55 AM EDT (04:55 UTC)
Lifted
12:57 AM EDT (04:57 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
1.5 miles (2.5 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Ottawa County
Touchdown point
41.478, -83.045
Lift-off point
41.494, -83.024
Record number
1104192255-01

What the Weather Service recorded

An area of strong low pressure over the Great Plains at midday on April 19th passed to the north of Lake Erie during the morning hours of the 20th. A warm front extending east from the low lifted into northern Ohio during the early morning hours of the 20th. Showers and thunderstorms associated with this front moved across portions of northern Ohio. A few of the stronger thunderstorms became severe after midnight and caused some damage. A weak tornado caused some damage in eastern Lucas County. A second EF0 tornado touched down in Ottawa County near Port Clinton. Downburst winds also damaged many homes on the east side of Findlay in Hancock County.

An EF0 tornado touched down around four miles southwest of Port Clinton in Bay Township. The Initial touchdown occurred just east of the intersection of Paulsen Road and Little Portage Road East. The tornado then moved northeast for about a mile an a half before lifting along Darr Hopfinger Road. The damage path was about 30 yards in width. Damage consisted of mainly downed trees. Several outbuildings lost sections of roofing. A couple homes also sustained minor roof damage. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 75 mph. No injuries were reported.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 04:18 UTC and running to 06:25 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
04:18 UTC06:25 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchCLE
22:45 UTC02:15 UTCFlood WarningCLE

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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:10 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.

Detroit, MI (KDTX), 00:00Z

4.9 hours before the tornado, 141 km from the path. April 20, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2011-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 557 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2011-04-20The 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 711 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 85 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
557 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
85 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
711 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.8
0-3 km lapse rate
0.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Detroit, MI (KDTX), 12:00Z

7.1 hours after it, 141 km from the path. April 20, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2011-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 3 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 438 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2011-04-20The 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 201 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 62 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
438 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
201 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
236 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
1.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Toledo (TDZ), 38 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
03:29 UTC42.880° 8 kt1002BR
03:53 UTC4370° 8 kt161000.7BR
04:14 UTC42.870° 8 kt1000VCTS BR
04:28 UTC42.890° 10 kt999.3TS BR
04:36 UTC44.6330° 14 kt43-TSRA SQ
04:42 UTC44.6310° 4 kt43+TSRA SQ
04:46 UTC44.6290° 4 kt19TSRA
04:53 UTC44330° 5 ktTSRA
05:09 UTC44.6340° 6 ktVCTS +RA
05:22 UTC44.6 VCTS RA
05:53 UTC44340° 13 kt20RA
06:03 UTC44.6360° 14 kt19-RA
06:28 UTC42.8340° 9 kt16-RA
06:35 UTC42.8330° 7 ktVCTS RA
06:50 UTC42.8 RA
06:53 UTC42170° 4 ktRA

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

The radar

The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:56 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
04:45 UTCTSTM WND DMGOregonLucas, OHNORTHEAST END OF OREGON. TREES DOWN. CAMPER TURNED OVER. GARAGE DAMAGE.
04:45 UTCTSTM WND DMGSycamoreWyandot, OHBARN DAMAGE. ROOF OFF HOUSE.
04:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 W Port ClintonOttawa, OHMULTIPLE POWERLINES DOWN. ROOF OF BARN BLOWN OFF.
04:55 UTCTORNADO4 Sw Port ClintonOttawa, OHWEAK TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 4 MILES SW OF PORT CLINTON IN BAY TWP. TORNADO CONTINUED ON GROUND TO THE NE FOR ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF BEFORE LIFTING. DAMAGE PATH AROUND 30 YARDS WIDE. DAMAGE CONSISTED OF MAINLY DOWNED TREES

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 19, 2011

69 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 194:00 PM CDTEF1Pike, MO4.1150
April 194:36 PM CDTEF0Pike, MO0.450
April 195:58 PM CDTEF0Pushmataha, OK0.150
April 195:58 PM CDTEF3Macoupin, IL4.32002
April 196:07 PM CDTEF1Pushmataha, OK3.5100
April 196:08 PM CDTEF2Montgomery, IL3.2150
April 196:15 PM CDTEF2Montgomery, IL3.5200
April 196:17 PM CDTEF1Christian, IL2.0100$90,000
April 196:30 PM CDTEF0Christian, IL3.5100$95,000
April 196:32 PM CDTEF1Christian, IL0.9100$60,000
April 196:45 PM CDTEF0LeFlore, OK0.175
April 196:48 PM CDTEF0LeFlore, OK3.0125
April 197:43 PM CDTEF1Wayne, MO5.2500$25,000
April 197:55 PM CDTEF0Bollinger, MO0.5100$15,000
April 197:59 PM CDTEF1Edgar, IL1.1100$140,000
April 198:02 PM CDTEF0Vermilion, IL2.725$225,000
April 199:10 PM EDTEF1Vermillion, IN31.1100$85,000
April 198:11 PM CDTEF1Vermilion, IL2.6100$360,000
April 198:35 PM CDTEF0Jackson, IL3.9100$70,000
April 198:40 PM CDTEF1Franklin, IL0.350$80,000
April 199:40 PM EDTEF1Tippecanoe, IN0.7100$80,000
April 198:49 PM CDTEF1Franklin, IL0.150$10,000
April 199:50 PM EDTEF0Tippecanoe, IN2.650$15,000
April 199:55 PM EDTEF1Boone, IN0.650$10,000
April 199:02 PM CDTEF1Marion, IL0.475
April 199:03 PM CDTEF1Jefferson, IL4.3100$70,000
April 199:06 PM CDTEF1Jefferson, IL1.4100$90,000
April 199:19 PM CDTEF1Hamilton, IL3.4150$150,000
April 199:27 PM CDTEF0Cape Girardeau, MO0.140$20,000
April 199:28 PM CDTEF2White, IL1.8125$2.0 million
April 199:30 PM CDTEF1White, IL1.4100$300,000
April 199:30 PM CDTEF2Wayne, IL10.61502$400,000
April 1910:41 PM EDTEF1Grant, IN2.5150$100,000
April 199:48 PM CDTEF2Wabash, IL11.3250$2.5 million
April 1910:48 PM EDTEF1Grant, IN2.950
April 199:53 PM CDTEF1Wabash, IL2.8125$50,000
April 1910:54 PM EDTEF1Knox, IN10.975$206,000
April 199:57 PM CDTEF1Gibson, IN4.4100$130,000
April 1911:16 PM EDTEF1Jay, IN6.950
April 1911:19 PM EDTEF0Van Wert, OH0.550
April 1911:22 PM EDTEF0Dubois, IN0.3200
April 1911:22 PM EDTEF1Dubois, IN3.1200
April 1911:25 PM EDTEF0Dubois, IN1.9200
April 1911:26 PM EDTEF1Dubois, IN0.4100
April 1911:26 PM EDTEF2Dubois, IN3.3300
April 1911:39 PM EDTEF2Mercer, OH3.730$340,000
April 1911:39 PM EDTEF2Orange, IN1.0200
April 1911:40 PM EDTEF1Orange, IN1.5125
April 1911:40 PM EDTEF1Van Wert, OH4.0100
April 1911:40 PM EDTEF1Orange, IN0.775
April 1911:44 PM EDTEF0Auglaize, OH3.867$55,000
April 1911:47 PM EDTEF0Orange, IN0.5100
April 1910:54 PM CDTEF0Breckinridge, KY11.5150
April 1911:58 PM EDTEF1Allen, OH0.7100
April 1911:59 PM EDTEF1Washington, IN1.5200
April 1912:00 AM EDTEF0Washington, IN1.275
April 1912:07 AM EDTEF0Washington, IN0.750
April 1912:09 AM EDTEF0Harrison, IN0.350
April 1912:14 AM EDTEF0Washington, IN13.1200
April 1912:19 AM EDTEF0Scott, IN11.8100

All 70 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.