Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2022

EF1 tornado, Branch Hill to Modest, Ohio, July 6, 2022

From Branch Hill to Modest, this EF1 tornado ran 2.2 miles across Clermont County on July 6, 2022, touching down at 2:57 PM EDT and reaching 100 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 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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
July 6, 2022
Touchdown
2:57 PM EDT (18:57 UTC)
Lifted
3:01 PM EDT (19:01 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
2.2 miles (3.6 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Clermont County
Touchdown point
39.239, -84.278
Lift-off point
39.225, -84.240
Record number
2207061257-01

The damage survey

127 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS ILN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.

  • IMG.24 Photo source: Ohio State Highway Patrol
  • Photo source: Ohio State Highway Patrol
  • Numerous trees snapped Photo source: Ohio State Highway Patrol
  • Siding found over on Three Chimneys Lane.

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

Thunderstorms developed ahead of a frontal boundary moving into a warm and humid airmass that was in place across the Ohio Valley.

The initial tornado damage consisted of uprooted trees and damaged fences, just south of the intersection of Oriskany Drive and Almahurst Lane. Damage continued along the lake shore of the community lake. The tornado intensified as it crossed Belle Meade Farms Drive and eventually Three Chimneys Lane, where minor roof and siding damage occurred along with dozens of snapped and uprooted trees. The tornado then crossed Wards Corner Road where it snapped a few dozen hardwood trees and caused more fence and minor roof damage. Additional damage was found along Murle Lane,|Ironwood Drive, and Paxton Woods Drive.||Additional damage extended all the way to State Route 28, but this was determined to be from straight line winds. Damage noted in this stretch included hundreds of downed trees and some minor property damage, including siding loss to a home.

The tornado touched down along Blue Sky Drive where several barns were damaged and multiple trees were uprooted and snapped. Additional damage consisting of dozens of snapped and uprooted trees occurred just southeast of the Huntley Road and Goshen Road intersection.||As the tornado approached Goshen, it rapidly strengthened and grew to around 500 yards in width. The tornado crossed Main Street, just to the west of State Route 28, causing significant damage to a couple of businesses. An insurance agency completely lost its roof and several of the exterior walls collapsed. A woman inside the business was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The large and strong tornado then crossed State Route 28, significantly damaging a fire station and causing complete roof loss to a brick business next door. Most of the exterior walls on|the business also collapsed. A firefighter at the fire station also suffered minor injuries. This was the strongest point in the tornado life cycle with winds estimated around 130 mph.||The tornado continued moving southeast along Goshen Road, snapping hundreds of trees and causing at least six more homes to completely lose their roofs. A couple of additional homes also had some failure of exterior walls. The tornado struck both the middle and high schools causing some roof and siding damage. The tornado continued moving to the southeast crossing Woodville Pike near its intersection with Manila Road. The tornado then crossed Moler Road where it completely destroyed a barn and downed dozens of trees. Based on aerial footage, the tornado likely lifted somewhere between Moler Road and Cedarville Road.

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.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 16:35 UTC and running to 21:23 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:35 UTC21:23 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchILN
17:00 UTC20:45 UTCHeat AdvisoryILN
18:27 UTC19:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILN
18:44 UTC19:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILN
19:07 UTC19:30 UTCTornado WarningILN
19:18 UTC19:43 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILN

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. The outlook in force was issued at 16:18 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

7.0 hours before the tornado, 45 km from the path. July 6, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2022-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 487 joules per kilogram, CIN -106, lifted condensation level 765 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 2022-07-06The 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 44 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 48 knots.193958Sfc1 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
487 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-106 J/kg
Surface CAPE
101 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
765 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

5.0 hours after it, 45 km from the path. July 7, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2022-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 166 joules per kilogram, CIN -76, lifted condensation level 781 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 00:00Z on 2022-07-07The 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 52 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 24 knots.1939Sfc1 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
166 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76 J/kg
Surface CAPE
330 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
781 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:56 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
16:43 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S Downtown DaytonMontgomery, OHTREE DOWN NEAR CARILLON AND S PATTERSON
18:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGE BataviaClermont, OHLARGE TREE DOWN
18:41 UTCTSTM WND GST 47Khao Hamilton AptButler, OH
18:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 S Deer ParkHamilton, OHLARGE TREE DOWN ON ROE STREET.
18:51 UTCTSTM WND GST 67Kluk Lunken AirportHamilton, OH
18:57 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 E Blue AshClermont, OHROOF SHINGLES BLOWN OFF HOUSE ON GLENCREST LANE. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
18:57 UTCTORNADO 12 S LovelandClermont, OHAN NWS DAMAGE SURVEY TEAM HAS DETERMINED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AND CAUSED MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO HOMES AND EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE. ESTIMATED MAX WIND SPEED OF 95 MPH.
18:58 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Nw WithamsvilleHamilton, OHLARGE TREE DOWN
18:58 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sse LovelandClermont, OHNUMEROUS TREES DOWN FALLING ON HOMES/ FENCES. SEVERAL TREES UPROOTED. OTHERS SNAPPED AT TRUNK.
19:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Sse LovelandClermont, OHLARGE TREE DOWN INTO A HOME, CAUSING SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE
19:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Sse LovelandClermont, OHSIDING OF UPPER LEVEL OF HOUSE RIPPED OFF EXPOSING INTERIOR ROOM. NUMEROUS TREES AND LARGE LIMBS DOWN.
19:02 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Se LovelandClermont, OHEIGHT MATURE TREES DOWN NEAR STOKER COURT.
19:06 UTCTORNADO 24 Sw Pleasant PlainClermont, OH*** 2 INJ *** NWS SURVEY CONFIRMS A 4.6 MILE TORNADO WHICH BEGAN JUST SOUTHWEST OF PLEASANT PLAIN IN CLERMONT COUNTY. THE TORNADO CAUSED WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO LARGE TREES, HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS WHICH INCLUDED AN INSURANC
19:07 UTCTSTM WND DMGSse GoshenClermont, OHLIKELY TORNADO HIT NEAR GOSHEN TOWNSHIP FIRE STATION. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:14 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 W FayettevilleClermont, OHBARN ROOF PARTIALLY PEELED BACK AND REMOVED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ne NewtonsvilleClermont, OHNUMEROUS TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED ON NEWTONSVILLE ROAD. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Wsw FayettevilleClermont, OHLARGE LIMBS BROKEN OFF. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 S BlanchesterClermont, OHBARN ROOF DAMAGED. A FEW TREES DOWN NEARBY. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 W FayettevilleClermont, OHNUMEROUS TREES BROKEN OFF AND UPROOTED. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
19:16 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wsw FayettevilleBrown, OHNUMEROUS TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:17 UTCTORNADO 12 Sw Lake LoreleiBrown, OHNWS SURVEY CONFIRMS A 3.4 MILE TORNADO WHICH BEGAN JUST SOUTHWEST OF LAKE LORELEI IN BROWN COUNTY. THE TORNADO CAUSED WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO LARGE TREES, HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS, AND WAS EMBEDDED WITHIN A MUCH LARGER AREA O
19:17 UTCTORNADO 14 Wsw FayettevilleClermont, OHNWS SURVEY CONFIRMS A 3.4 MILE TORNADO WHICH BEGAN JUST SOUTHWEST OF LAKE LORELEI IN BROWN COUNTY. THE TORNADO CAUSED WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO LARGE TREES, HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS, AND WAS EMBEDDED WITHIN A MUCH LARGER AREA O
19:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Wnw FayettevilleBrown, OHTREE SNAPPED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Wsw FayettevilleBrown, OHTREES DOWN AND SHINGLES BLOWN OFF ROOF
19:21 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nnw FayettevilleBrown, OHNUMEROUS TREES AND LIMBS DOWN. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:27 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sse St. MartinHighland, OHTREES UPROOTED, LARGE LIMBS DOWN ALONG MURTLAND ROAD. TIME ESTIMATED VIA RADAR.
19:34 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 N GeorgetownBrown, OHWINDOW SHUTTERS BLOWN OFF HOUSE. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
19:39 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ssw LynchburgHighland, OHROOF BLOWN OFF HOUSE. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of July 6, 2022

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 63:05 PM EDTEF2Clermont, OH4.85002$3.0 million
July 63:17 PM EDTEF1Brown, OH3.3250$500,000
July 61:18 PM MDTEF0Judith Basin, MT1.350
July 62:44 PM MDTUnratedWeld, CO0.050
July 68:46 PM MDTEF0Otero, CO3.220

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.