Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2014
EF1 tornado, Belden to Hinckley, Ohio, July 8, 2014
From Belden to Hinckley, this EF1 tornado ran 8.3 miles across Medina and Lorain counties on July 8, 2014, touching down at 1:33 PM EDT and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $78,000 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- EF1
- Date
- July 8, 2014
- Touchdown
- 1:33 PM EDT (17:33 UTC)
- Lifted
- 1:40 PM EDT (17:40 UTC)
- On the ground
- 7 minutes
- Path length
- 8.3 miles (13.4 km)
- Path width
- 200 yards (183 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $78,000
- Counties
- Medina and Lorain counties
- Touchdown point
- 41.242, -82.003
- Lift-off point
- 41.258, -81.845
- Record number
- 1407081133-01
The damage survey
19 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS CLE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 94 mph.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
Three tornadoes and a handful of severe thunderstorms occurred on July 8th ahead of a cold front moving across the area. A National Weather Service survey team rated all three tornadoes as an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The first tornado touched down at 133 pm EDT as an EF0 in extreme east central Lorain County near the intersection of Island Road and Route 303. The tornado quickly became an EF1 in Medina County and tracked around 7 miles before lifting up at 140 pm EDT near the intersection of Grafton and Marks Roads. Along the 7.3 mile path of the tornado, much of the damage was to trees that were knocked down or uprooted. Some shingle and mainly minor structure damage also occurred. A barn on Station Road was moderately damaged. The max path width was 200 yards and the maximum estimated speed was 94 mph. The tornado was on the ground approximately 7 minutes. Scattered downed trees and limbs observed east of this location was determined to be a result of straight line winds.||The second tornado was rated EF1 and touched down at 143 pm EDT just southwest of the intersection of Ridge Road and Boston Road in Hinckley causing minor damage to a home. It then moved across the water treatment plant and lifted at 147 pm EDT at the eastern edge of the Valleaire Golf Course off Boston Road. Tree damage occurred at the golf course. The tornado tracked approximately 1. 6 miles with a max path width of 150 yards.||The third tornado was rated EF1 and touched down at 215 pm EDT near the Society of Saint Paul on West Akron-Canfield Road and skipped east northeast through Canfield Township and the city of Canfield and finally lifted at 218 pm EDT near South Raccoon Road in the northeast corner of Canfield Township. About 10 homes were damaged with trees on several houses and a couple of garages were heavily damaged. The storm tracked for just over 5 miles with maximum width of 200 yards and estimated wind speeds of 90 mph.
The tornado started as an EF0 in extreme eastern central Lorain County near the intersection of Island Road and Route 303. The tornado quickly became an EF1 in Medina County and tracked around 7 miles before lifting up near the intersection of Grafton and Marks Roads. Along the 7.3 mile path of the tornado, much of the damage was to trees that were knocked down or uprooted. Some shingle and mainly minor structure damage also occurred. A barn on Station Road was moderately damaged. The max path width was 200 yards and the maximum estimated speed was 94 mph. The tornado was on the ground approximately 7 minutes. Scattered downed trees and limbs observed east of this location was determined to be a result of straight line winds.
The tornado started as an EF0 in extreme eastern central Lorain County near the intersection of Island Road and Route 303. The tornado quickly became an EF1 in Medina County and tracked around 7 miles before lifting up near the intersection of Grafton and Marks Roads. Along the 7.3 mile path of the tornado, much of the damage was to trees that were knocked down or uprooted. Some shingle and mainly minor structure damage also occurred. A barn on Station Road was moderately damaged. The max path width was 200 yards and the maximum estimated speed was 94 mph. The tornado was on the ground approximately 7 minutes. Scattered downed trees and limbs observed east of this location was determined to be a result of straight line winds.
A National Weather Service Storm Survey confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down just southwest of the intersection of Ridge Road and Boston Road in Hinckley causing minor damage to a home. It then moved across the water treatment plant and lifted at the eastern edge of the Valleaire Golf Course off Boston Road. Tree damage occurred at the golf course. The tornado tracked approximately 1. 6 miles with a max path width of 150 yards.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Cleveland, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jul 8, 1:24 PM EDT, 9 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 1:24 PM EDT, 9 minutes before
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</html>Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 8, 1:18 PM EDT, 15 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 118 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 OHZ010>014-020>023-030>033-038-047-089-PAZ001>003-091730- LORAIN-CUYAHOGA-LAKE-GEAUGA-ASHTABULA INLAND-MEDINA-SUMMIT-PORTAGE- TRUMBULL-ASHLAND-WAYNE-STARK-MAHONING-HOLMES-KNOX- ASHTABULA LAKESHORE-NORTHERN ERIE-SOUTHERN ERIE-CRAWFORD PA- 118 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 403 IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHEAST OHIO AND NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. SOME STORMS WILL BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS. AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. OHZ003-006>009-017>019-027>029-036-037-091730- LUCAS-WOOD-OTTAWA-SANDUSKY-ERIE OH-HANCOCK-SENECA-HURON-WYANDOT- CRAWFORD-RICHLAND-MARION-MORROW- 118 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL OHIO AND NORTHWEST OHIO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. LEZ142>145-162>165-091730- MAUMEE BAY TO RENO BEACH OH-RENO BEACH TO THE ISLANDS OH- THE ISLANDS TO VERMILION OH-VERMILION TO AVON POINT OH- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM MAUMEE BAY TO RENO BEACH- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM RENO BEACH TO THE ISLANDS- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM THE ISLANDS TO VERMILION- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM VERMILION TO AVON POINT- 118 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR LAKE ERIE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. LEZ061-146>149-166>169-091730- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM RIPLEY TO BUFFALO NY- AVON POINT TO WILLOWICK OH-WILLOWICK TO GENEVA-ON-THE LAKE OH-GENEVA- ON-THE-LAKE TO CONNEAUT OH-CONNEAUT OH TO RIPLEY NY- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM AVON POINT TO WILLOWICK- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM WILLOWICK TO GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE TO CONNEAUT- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM CONNEAUT OH TO RIPLEY NY- 118 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 403 IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR LAKE ERIE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 8:40 AM EDT, 4 hours 53 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 840 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 OHZ017-018-027-028-081305- CRAWFORD-HANCOCK-SENECA-WYANDOT- 840 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR WYANDOT...CRAWFORD... HANCOCK... SENECA COUNTIES UNTIL 915 AM EDT... AT 835 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR ARLINGTON...OR 13 MILES SOUTH OF FINDLAY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THE TOWNS OF CAREY AND BLOOMVILE ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM. THOMPSON
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.
Pittsburgh, PA (KAGC), 12:00Z
5.6 hours before the tornado, 180 km from the path. July 8, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 96 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -76 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 68 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 909 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 175 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 205 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.9 K/km
The surface observations
Cleveland (CLE), 18 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:34 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.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2014 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of July 8, 2014
13 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 8 | 1:43 PM EDT | EF1 | Medina, OH | 1.6 | 200 | $20,000 | ||
| July 8 | 2:15 PM EDT | EF1 | Mahoning, OH | 5.4 | 200 | $225,000 | ||
| July 8 | 2:48 PM EDT | EF1 | Mercer, PA | 2.5 | 150 | $75,000 | ||
| July 8 | 3:25 PM EDT | EF1 | Monongalia, WV | 2.0 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| July 8 | 3:55 PM EDT | EF1 | Taylor, WV | 4.4 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| July 8 | 6:15 PM EDT | EF2 | Sullivan, PA | 6.7 | 500 | $105,000 | ||
| July 8 | 6:33 PM EDT | EF1 | Oneida, NY | 1.0 | 600 | $30,000 | ||
| July 8 | 6:48 PM EDT | EF1 | Lewis, NY | 12.3 | 300 | $250,000 | ||
| July 8 | 7:00 PM EDT | EF0 | Luzerne, PA | 0.9 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| July 8 | 7:02 PM EDT | EF2 | Madison, NY | 2.5 | 235 | 4 | $600,000 | |
| July 8 | 7:05 PM EDT | EF1 | Susquehanna, PA | 1.4 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| July 8 | 7:25 PM EDT | EF1 | Oneida, NY | 1.3 | 65 | $110,000 | ||
| July 8 | 8:40 PM EDT | EF0 | Warren, NY | 1.1 | 100 |
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.