Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2011

EF0 tornado, New Carlisle, Ohio, April 27, 2011

This EF0 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Clark County on April 27, 2011, touching down at 9:53 AM EDT and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $25,000 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 27, 2011
Touchdown
9:53 AM EDT (13:53 UTC)
Lifted
9:54 AM EDT (13:54 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
1.3 miles (2.1 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$25,000
County
Clark County
Touchdown point
39.923, -84.030
Lift-off point
39.940, -84.020
Record number
1104270753-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A line of storms moved through during the morning hours of April 27th.

The tornado touched down near a cemetery where several trees were snapped or uprooted in this area. Further to the northeast, an RV dealership on the east side of New Carlisle experienced damage when a roof was partially lifted off the building. Two by four roof support beams were driven into the ground. In this same area, large debris was blown into a public pool complex. Snapped trees and power poles were also found in this area. Maximum estimated wind speeds based on damage were around 70 miles per hour.

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

The warnings

1 minute of warning. NWS ILN issued a tornado warning for this county at 13:52 UTC, 1 minute before the tornado touched down, in force until 14:15 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
06:00 UTC07:08 UTCFlash Flood WatchILN
13:49 UTC14:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILN
13:52 UTC14:15 UTCTornado WarningILN
14:14 UTC14:44 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILN
23:29 UTC04:51 UTCTornado WatchILN

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 12:56 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

1.9 hours before the tornado, 59 km from the path. April 27, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2011-04-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 279 joules per kilogram, CIN -56, lifted condensation level 846 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 2011-04-27The 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 470 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 56 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
279 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-56 J/kg
Surface CAPE
76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
846 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
470 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
503 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.9
0-3 km lapse rate
5.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

10.1 hours after it, 59 km from the path. April 28, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2011-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -49541, lifted condensation level 775 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2011-04-28The 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 96 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 70 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-49541 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
775 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
96 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
521 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5
0-3 km lapse rate
4.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Wright Paterson (FFO), 12 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
11:55 UTC60.6260.62110° 8 kt1000.7
12:55 UTC6559.72140° 13 kt999.3
13:46 UTC6859150° 16 kt23997-SHRA
13:49 UTC6860.8220° 29 kt37999+SHRA FG
13:50 UTC6860.8220° 29 kt37999+SHRA FG
13:55 UTC6860.26230° 31 kt38999.3SHRA
14:05 UTC62.660.8220° 14 kt291000-RA BR
14:32 UTC62.660.8160° 12 kt998.6
14:55 UTC6360160° 13 kt21998.3-DZ
15:21 UTC64.460.8200° 13 kt1000.3

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

The radar

The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 13:51 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
13:52 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nne New CarlisleClark, OHNUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN NEAR SR 235 AND SIGLER RD.
13:52 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ne Huber HeightsMiami, OHNUMEROUS TREES DOWN ON BELLEFONTAINE RD NEAR SR 235.
13:52 UTCTSTM WND DMGNew CarlisleClark, OHAWNINGS AND DOOR RIPPED OFF BUILDING.
13:52 UTCTSTM WND GST 50SidneyShelby, OH
13:53 UTCTORNADONew CarlisleClark, OHNWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMS LOW-END EF0 TORNADO WHICH TOUCHED DOWN SOUTH OF NEW CARLISLE AND TERMINATED ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF THE CITY. DAMAGE INCLUDED UPROOTED TREES...MINOR ROOF DAMAGE...AND OTHER MINOR STRUCTURAL DAM
14:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne MillerstownChampaign, OHONE TREE DOWN ON THE 500 BLOCK OF IDLE ROAD.
14:25 UTCTSTM WND DMGBellefontaineLogan, OHPOWER POLE SNAPPED AND A TREE DOWN ON A HOUSE IN THE CITY OF BELLEFONTAINE.

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 27, 2011

209 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 271:12 AM CDTEF1Yazoo, MS9.7250$70,000
April 271:15 AM CDTEF1Leflore, MS27.750$50,000
April 271:24 AM CDTEF1Leflore, MS3.2100$50,000
April 271:36 AM CDTEF0LaSalle Parish, LA8.0100$40,000
April 271:40 AM CDTEF2Holmes, MS12.31,760$100,000
April 271:40 AM CDTEF3Holmes, MS23.01,760$700,000
April 271:51 AM CDTEF2Attala, MS23.0860$553,000
April 271:51 AM CDTEF0Holmes, MS1.750$25,000
April 271:59 AM CDTEF2Holmes, MS8.8880$10,000
April 272:06 AM CDTEF1Grenada, MS1.9150$60,000
April 272:17 AM CDTEF2Montgomery, MS11.71,760$425,000
April 272:20 AM CDTEF1Attala, MS0.550$25,000
April 272:25 AM CDTEF2Choctaw, MS6.81,7502$350,000
April 272:29 AM CDTEF1Winston, MS4.2150$85,000
April 272:29 AM CDTEF3Choctaw, MS58.71,80025$5.4 million
April 272:37 AM CDTEF2Webster, MS13.31,32015$605,000
April 272:47 AM CDTEF1Winston, MS7.3200$60,000
April 273:20 AM CDTEF1Noxubee, MS6.2150$300,000
April 273:43 AM CDTEF2Tishomingo, MS9.31501$500,000
April 274:01 AM CDTEF1Lauderdale, AL to TN9.2200$1,000
April 274:03 AM CDTEF2Kemper, MS to AL35.21,410$3.2 million
April 274:19 AM CDTEF1Lauderdale, AL1.81001
April 274:27 AM CDTEF2Pickens, AL14.41,232$1.8 million
April 274:41 AM CDTEF3Pickens, AL22.5704$741,000
April 275:03 AM CDTEF1Fayette, AL7.31764$1.4 million
April 275:17 AM CDTEF3Tuscaloosa, AL20.3200$9.3 million
April 275:18 AM CDTEF3Walker, AL18.937520$13 million
April 275:38 AM CDTEF2Lincoln, TN25.9400
April 275:40 AM CDTEF1Marshall, TN2.9100$75,000
April 275:47 AM CDTEF0Rutherford, TN2.150$8,000
April 275:48 AM CDTEF2Cullman, AL30.38801
April 275:50 AM CDTEF1Shelby, AL3.4100$3.7 million
April 275:50 AM CDTEF1Lawrence, TN2.71501$11,000
April 275:52 AM CDTEF0Rutherford, TN1.675$50,000
April 275:53 AM CDTEF2Blount, AL3.22003$9.3 million
April 275:54 AM CDTEF2Jefferson, AL7.820020$18 million
April 276:12 AM CDTEF1Blount, AL14.8200$42,000
April 276:13 AM CDTEF2Moore, TN2.075$25,000
April 276:16 AM CDTEF2St. Clair, AL3.82005$865,000
April 276:20 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL11.075
April 276:24 AM CDTEF0Smith, TN3.450$5,000
April 276:24 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL6.4100
April 276:30 AM CDTEF2Marshall, AL20.0880
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.650
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL3.4100
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL5.750
April 276:32 AM CDTEF1Green, KY3.1150
April 276:35 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.9100
April 276:35 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL0.350$10,000
April 276:43 AM CDTEF0Marshall, AL2.875
April 276:45 AM CDTEF0Coffee, TN1.750$5,000
April 276:45 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.8200
April 276:45 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL6.9300
April 276:47 AM CDTEF1Jackson, TN3.3100$10,000
April 276:49 AM CDTEF0Jackson, TN2.050$20,000
April 276:49 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL1.6100
April 276:50 AM CDTEF1Warren, TN13.2100$100,000
April 276:58 AM CDTEF1DeKalb, AL27.93001
April 277:02 AM CDTEF1Monroe, KY5.9550
April 277:10 AM CDTEF2DeKalb, AL5.8200$30,000

All 210 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.