EF1 tornado, New Bavaria to Grelton, Ohio, June 12, 2013

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 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF1

Date

June 12, 2013

Touchdown

11:59 PM EDT (03:59 UTC)

Lifted

12:01 AM EDT (04:01 UTC)

On the ground

2 minutes

Path length

0.4 miles (0.7 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Henry County

Touchdown point

41.245, -84.036

Lift-off point

41.248, -84.028

Record number

1306122159-01

25 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS CLE and NWS IWX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 97 mph.

• large tree with rooted core - this marked the southern most extent of the wind damage for this event.
• weak circulation shown in the wheat field leading to the farm/barn destroyed
• rotational and circulation patterns observed in the corn field
• Barn was destroyed on this property and was on the south side of the tornado touchdown point. Debris deposited northeast of location and along and south of the tornado path.

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

Influenced by a highly unstable, but strongly capped atmosphere ahead of a frontal boundary moving out of Illinois, the combination of 3000 to 4000 j/kg surface based CAPE, mid-level lapse rates between 8 and 9 C/km and 0-6 km deep layer shear of 35 to 55 knots set the stage for rapid supercellular development. The convection transitioned to clusters of bowing segments as storms congealed producing an increased risk for high end damaging wind. Broad, but strong rotation established quickly in the initial storms, allowing for rapid production of hail, some exceeding gold ball size. Numerous funnel clouds were reported in the early stages of the event, indicating conditions were favorable for tornadic development. However, the development of tornadoes was severely limited due to just enough mixed layer inhibition in the lowest levels.

Eyewitness reports and a National Weather Service Damage survey indicate a circulation quickly formed and touched down on the leading edge of a larger area of downburst winds along County Road Y, west of County Road 12A. The tornado caused some minor roof damage to a residence and snapped or uprooted several trees in the immediate area (DI: TH DOD: 3); some debarking of tree tops was observed. Wet ground likely aided uprooting of trees. Shortly after touchdown, the tornado became outflow dominant and quickly dissipated with debris being carried by straight line winds to the east. Maximum path length was 50 yards with a maximum width of 25 yards. Wind speeds were estimated at around 85 mph.

A NWS survey of damage north of Hamler indicated a circulation quickly intensified and touched down onto a barn, destroying it and throwing the debris to the northeast for nearly a half mile (DI: SBO DI: 6). Several large trees in the immediate area were snapped. An adjacent soybean field indicated a convergent wind pattern which continued towards a small grove of trees where the tornado dissipated. The maximum width was 50 yards with maximum wind speeds estimated at 95 mph.

A NWS Storm survey indicated that a circulation rapidly touched down at a residence on the south side of County Road J. A detached garage suffered extensive damage, as well as an adjacent barn suffering total loss of its roof (DI: SBO, DOD: 4). The tornado continued northeast with debris from the residence impacting a two story home, causing the destruction of a porch, as well as a large hole punched into the west side of the upper story of the house (DI: FR12, DOD: 4). A large pine tree had the top half snapped off and then thrown roughly 50 feet to rest against other trees on the property. The tornado continued across a field into a small grove of trees, where the tornado likely became outflow dominant and dissipated. While damage to the second residence could indicate much stronger wind speeds, a maximum wind speed of 95 mph was estimated due to the impacts of larger debris from the point of touchdown. The maximum width of the tornado was around 75 yards.

A NWS Storm survey of damage indicated that two weak and brief tornado occurred, separated by a quarter mile. A convergent, variable track pattern was noted in a wheat field. While the wheat was laid down, actual damage was minimal. The maximum width was 15 yards, with maximum winds of 70 mph.

A NWS Storm survey of damage indicated that two weak and brief tornado occurred within a quarter mile of each other. One of these touchdowns caused the collapse of barn doors as well as one of the walls to be blown out. Corn in an adjacent field indicated a brief convergent pattern. The maximum width was 15 yards with a maximum wind speed of 70 mph.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 21:00 UTC and running to 05:51 UTC.

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 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 00:54 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 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.

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:59 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.

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

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2013 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

20 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.