Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2017
EF0 tornado, Harveysburg to Mt Holly, Ohio, May 24, 2017
From Harveysburg to Mt Holly, this EF0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Warren County on May 24, 2017, touching down at 7:47 PM EDT and reaching 25 yards wide. It killed nobody.
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 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
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
- EF0
- Date
- May 24, 2017
- Touchdown
- 7:47 PM EDT (23:47 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:48 PM EDT (23:48 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.2 miles (0.3 km)
- Path width
- 25 yards (23 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Warren County
- Touchdown point
- 39.541, -83.981
- Lift-off point
- 39.544, -83.983
- Record number
- 1705241747-01
The damage survey
2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS ILN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 62 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
A slow moving low pressure system resulted in thunderstorm development through the late afternoon. The thunderstorms continued into the evening hours, producing locally heavy rainfall and isolated tornadoes.
Based on radar data, video evidence and eyewitness reports, a tornado appeared to briefly touch down about 4 miles NNE of Harveysburg in extreme northeast Warren County. No damage was observed so the maximum winds were estimated to be 50 mph, equivalent to a weak EF0 tornado.
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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23:04 UTC | 04:00 UTC | Flood Advisory | ILN |
| 23:55 UTC | 00:03 UTC | Tornado Warning | ILN |
| 00:44 UTC | 00:55 UTC | Tornado Warning | ILN |
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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 20:06 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
11.8 hours before the tornado, 20 km from the path. May 24, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -89 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 62 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 828 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 7 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 28 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 80 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.3 K/km
Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 00:00Z
0.2 hours after it, 20 km from the path. May 25, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 195 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 850 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 911 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 180 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 231 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 2.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.1 K/km
The radar
The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:48 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:18 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 1.81 | Fairfield | Butler, OH | RAINFALL IN 45-MINUTE SPAN. |
| 23:45 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 4 Nne Hamilton | Butler, OH | RAILROAD WAS WASHED OUT BY FLOODING ON SEVENMILE CREEK. |
| 23:55 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 4 N Harveysburg | Warren, OH | BASED ON RADAR DATA, VIDEO EVIDENCE AND EYEWITNESS REPORTS...THE TORNADO APPEARED TO BRIEFLY TOUCH DOWN IN A FARM FIELD. |
| 00:25 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Fairfield | Butler, OH | 2.62 INCHES OF RAINFALL IN THE LAST HOUR AND A HALF. |
| 00:26 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 2 W Xenia | Greene, OH | SMALL TREE DAMAGE AND MINOR BRANCH DAMAGE. VIDEO FROM SOCIAL MEDIA SHOWED TORNADO CIRCULATION CROSSING ROUTE 35 WEST OF XENIA. ADDITIONAL DAMAGE FURTHER NORTH OF 35 ALONG TREBEIN ROAD IN BEAVERCREEK TOWNSHIP. |
| 00:27 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 3 Wsw Octa | Fayette, OH | BASED ON RADAR DATA, VIDEO EVIDENCE AND EYEWITNESS REPORTS, THE TORNADO APPEARED TO FIRST TOUCH DOWN ABOUT 3 MILES WSW OF OCTA IN EXTREME WESTERN FAYETTE COUNTY. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED NORTHWEST INTO FAR EASTERN GREENE C |
| 00:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ese Beavercreek | Greene, OH | SEVERAL TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN NEAR INTERSECTION OF DAYTON XENIA RD AND TREBEIN RD. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 00:53 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Nne Beavercreek | Greene, OH | SEVERAL TREES DOWN ALONG A PORTION OF DAYTON YELLOWSPRINGS RD NEAR FAIRBORN. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 01:07 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 4 Nnw Fairborn | Greene, OH | NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR MEDWAY IN CLARK AND GREEN COUNTIES. SEVERAL MANUFACTURED HOMES SUSTAINED ROOF AND SIDING DAMAGE ALONG WITH SEVERAL CARPORTS AND AWNINGS DESTROYED ON EITHER SIDE OF PRINCETON DRIV |
| 01:13 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ene Huber Heights | Clark, OH | DAMAGE OBSERVED AT A SUNOCO GAS STATION JUST SOUTH OF STYER DRIVE. NEARBY ROOF DAMAGE AT GROCERY STORE. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 01:15 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 4 Nnw Fairborn | Clark, OH | NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR MEDWAY IN CLARK COUNTY. SEVERAL MANUFACTURED HOMES SUSTAINED ROOF AND SIDING DAMAGE ALONG WITH SEVERAL CARPORTS AND AWNINGS DESTROYED ON EITHER SIDE OF PRINCETON DRIVE. SEVERAL L |
| 01:16 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 4 Ene Huber Heights | Clark, OH | NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR PARK LAYNE IN CLARK AND MIAMI COUNTIES. STRUCTURAL AND TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED ON WESTERN SIDE OF PARK LAYNE WITH ADDITIONAL DAMAGE OBSERVED ALONG BELLEFONTAINE ROAD AND STUDEBA |
| 01:16 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 4 Nnw New Carlisle | Miami, OH | NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR PARK LAYNE IN CLARK AND MIAMI COUNTIES. STRUCTURAL AND TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED ON WESTERN SIDE OF PARK LAYNE WITH ADDITIONAL DAMAGE OBSERVED ALONG BELLEFONTAINE ROAD AND STUDEBA |
| 01:16 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 4 Nnw New Carlisle | Miami, OH | NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR PARK LAYNE IN CLARK AND MIAMI COUNTIES. STRUCTURAL AND TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED ON WESTERN SIDE OF PARK LAYNE WITH ADDITIONAL DAMAGE OBSERVED ALONG BELLEFONTAINE ROAD AND STUDEBA |
| 01:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ne Huber Heights | Miami, OH | TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN ALONG BELLEFONTAINE RD. BETWEEN US 40 AND PALMER ROAD. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 01:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 Nne Huber Heights | Miami, OH | TWO HOMES REPORTED WITH SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 24, 2017
26 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24 | 8:53 AM EDT | Unrated | Saint Johns, FL | 0.6 | 25 | |||
| May 24 | 9:45 AM EDT | EF1 | Whitfield, GA | 1.6 | 200 | $20,000 | ||
| May 24 | 10:47 AM EDT | EF0 | Gordon, GA | 0.3 | 90 | $10,000 | ||
| May 24 | 10:50 AM EDT | EF0 | Gordon, GA | 0.3 | 90 | $30,000 | ||
| May 24 | 11:16 AM EDT | EF0 | Gilmer, GA | 0.1 | 30 | $8,000 | ||
| May 24 | 11:43 AM EDT | EF0 | Fannin, GA | 0.1 | 35 | $7,000 | ||
| May 24 | 11:36 AM CDT | EF0 | Smith, TN | 2.5 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| May 24 | 2:05 PM EDT | EF0 | Laurens, GA | 2.3 | 240 | $25,000 | ||
| May 24 | 2:40 PM EDT | EF1 | Saluda, SC | 2.9 | 75 | |||
| May 24 | 3:04 PM EDT | EF2 | Saluda, SC | 12.1 | 250 | |||
| May 24 | 3:26 PM EDT | EF0 | Iredell, NC | 1.1 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| May 24 | 3:41 PM EDT | EF2 | Iredell, NC | 3.2 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| May 24 | 4:14 PM EDT | EF2 | Davie, NC | 5.9 | 225 | 1 | $9.6 million | |
| May 24 | 3:19 PM CDT | EF1 | Lancaster, SC to NC | 8.1 | 50 | $100,000 | ||
| May 24 | 4:48 PM EDT | EF0 | Cook, GA | 1.1 | 568 | $5,000 | ||
| May 24 | 4:52 PM EDT | EF2 | Stokes, NC | 16.1 | 700 | $20 million | ||
| May 24 | 8:11 PM EDT | EF1 | Lawrence, OH | 3.0 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| May 24 | 8:26 PM EDT | EF0 | Greene, OH | 2.6 | 40 | $3,000 | ||
| May 24 | 8:27 PM EDT | EF0 | Fayette, OH | 0.7 | 25 | |||
| May 24 | 8:30 PM EDT | EF0 | Greene, OH | 2.2 | 25 | |||
| May 24 | 9:06 PM EDT | EF0 | Greene, OH | 1.6 | 90 | $2,000 | ||
| May 24 | 9:12 PM EDT | EF0 | Clark, OH | 1.1 | 90 | $100,000 | ||
| May 24 | 9:16 PM EDT | EF1 | Clark, OH | 0.4 | 300 | $250,000 | ||
| May 24 | 9:20 PM EDT | EF1 | Miami, OH | 4.1 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| May 24 | 10:03 PM EDT | EF1 | Miami, OH | 1.9 | 160 | $5,000 | ||
| May 24 | 11:09 PM EDT | EF1 | Toombs, GA | 4.2 | 440 | $50,000 |
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.