Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2024

EF1 tornado, Broughton to Oakwood Bauer Fld Ar, Ohio, May 7, 2024

From Broughton to Oakwood Bauer Fld Ar, this EF1 tornado ran 6.2 miles across Paulding County on May 7, 2024, touching down at 8:09 PM EDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $200,000 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
May 7, 2024
Touchdown
8:09 PM EDT (00:09 UTC)
Lifted
8:14 PM EDT (00:14 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
6.2 miles (9.9 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$200,000
County
Paulding County
Touchdown point
41.080, -84.515
Lift-off point
41.087, -84.397
Record number
2405071809-01

The damage survey

1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS IWX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 83 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

Thunderstorms produced severe tornadoes and damaging wind gusts on the afternoon and evening of May 7. Large hail occurred in Indiana and Michigan, while three tornadoes were documented in Ohio.

Several reports of a funnel cloud were received prior to touchdown. The most extensive tornado damage occurred north of Road 82 along road 151 where several structures were impacted. An unanchored home was slid 18 feet off its foundation into the west side of a barn.

Emergency management sent drone footage which shows scoured dirt through a freshly plowed field along road 166 between road 191 and Ohio 66. The track terminates near a large metal outbuilding which lost some roof panels.

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

The warnings

14 minutes of warning. NWS IWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:55 UTC, 14 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:55 UTC and running to 01:54 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:55 UTC01:54 UTCTornado WatchIWX
23:37 UTC00:01 UTCTornado WarningIWX
23:55 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningIWX
00:15 UTC00:25 UTCTornado WarningIWX

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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:45 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), 00:00Z

0.2 hours before the tornado, 192 km from the path. May 8, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2024-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1297 joules per kilogram, CIN -6, lifted condensation level 774 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 2024-05-08The 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 172 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 77 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
1297 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2204 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
774 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
77 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
172 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
233 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
8.9
0-3 km lapse rate
6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 12:00Z

11.8 hours after it, 192 km from the path. May 8, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2024-05-08Temperature 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 -69553, lifted condensation level 1727 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 12:00Z on 2024-05-08The 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 28 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 50 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69553 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1727 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:11 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
23:55 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPauldingPaulding, OHFacebook photo of a funnel cloud. Tim estimated by radar.
23:55 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPauldingPaulding, OHFacebook photo of a funnel cloud. Tim estimated by radar.
00:06 UTCTORNADO1 Se LattyPaulding, OHSmall to medium Limbs downed.
00:06 UTCTORNADO1 Se LattyPaulding, OHSmall to medium Limbs downed.
00:08 UTCTORNADO1 W CharloePaulding, OHVan Wert County EMA relayed a photo of a tornado. Further investigation confirmed this damaged the house of a relative. Time estimated.
00:08 UTCTORNADO1 W CharloePaulding, OHVan Wert County EMA relayed a photo of a tornado. Further investigation confirmed this damaged the house of a relative. Time estimated.
00:09 UTCTORNADO2 W MelrosePaulding, OHCorrects time of previous tornado report from 2 W Melrose. Additional review by emergency management and NWS found damage near Belmore, so the time and path length of the tornado was updated accordingly. Several reports
00:11 UTCTORNADO2 W MelrosePaulding, OHSeveral reports of funnel clouds and a touchdown were received from near Latty east to south of Melrose and west of Oakwood. The most extensive damage occurred north of Road 82, along Road 151 where several structures we
00:13 UTCTORNADOOakwoodPaulding, OHReport of tornado with visible soil lofted along Highway 613 west of Oakwood.
00:13 UTCTORNADOOakwoodPaulding, OHReport of tornado with visible soil lofted along Highway 613 west of Oakwood.
00:16 UTCTORNADO3 Ssw ArthurPaulding, OHEmergency management sent drone footage which shows scoured dirt through a freshly plowed field along Road 166 between Road 191 and Ohio 66. The track terminates near a large metal outbuilding (at the intersection of OH
00:30 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDBroughtonPaulding, OHFacebook photos shows a funnel cloud nearly on the ground in Broughton. Time estimated by radar.
00:30 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDBroughtonPaulding, OHFacebook photos shows a funnel cloud nearly on the ground in Broughton. Time estimated by radar.
00:30 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDMelrosePaulding, OHVideo of a funnel cloud on X/Twitter from Melrose, OH. Time estimated by radar.
00:30 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDMelrosePaulding, OHVideo of a funnel cloud on X/Twitter from Melrose, OH. Time estimated by radar.
00:36 UTCTORNADO2 E OakwoodPutnam, OHPhoto on X/Twitter between Melrose and Leipsic of a tornado on the ground. Time estimated by radar.
00:36 UTCTORNADO2 E OakwoodPutnam, OHPhoto on X/Twitter between Melrose and Leipsic of a tornado on the ground. Time estimated by radar.
00:40 UTCTORNADOOakwoodPaulding, OHNumerous photos on Facebook of a funnel cloud nearly on the ground between Melrose and Oakwood. Additional photos show the tornado on the ground near Oakwood. Fairly certain that a brief tornado touched down between Melr
00:40 UTCTORNADOOakwoodPaulding, OHNumerous photos on Facebook of a funnel cloud nearly on the ground between Melrose and Oakwood. Additional photos show the tornado on the ground near Oakwood. Fairly certain that a brief tornado touched down between Melr
00:54 UTCTORNADO2 S BelmorePutnam, OHA trained spotter reported a brief tornado touched down south of Belmore, OH at 8:54 PM EDT May 7th. Videos confirm that a tornado did touch down in a field just east of Little Yellow Creek, south of Iams Avenue and west
00:56 UTCTORNADO2 Se BelmorePutnam, OHTrained spotter observed a very brief tornado about 2 miles SSE of Belmore. A friend closer to the storm confirmed it visually on the ground for a few seconds.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 7, 2024

52 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 71:05 AM CDTEF1Okfuskee, OK2.8200$15,000
May 71:12 AM CDTEF0Warren, IA3.180$50,000
May 71:35 AM CDTEF0Jasper, IA0.130$25,000
May 71:37 AM CDTEF0Marion, IA5.080$8,000
May 71:43 AM CDTEF1Randolph, MO8.3250
May 71:44 AM CDTEF0Randolph, MO2.3400
May 72:23 AM CDTEF2Adair, OK to AR11.7800$75,000
May 72:28 AM CDTEF0Pulaski, MO9.8150$16,000
May 72:43 AM CDTEF1Crawford, AR5.7900$30,000
May 72:43 AM CDTEF1Crawford, AR9.21,100$500,000
May 72:48 AM CDTEF1Crawford, AR0.6100$50,000
May 72:55 AM CDTEF1Washington, AR1.8150$35,000
May 72:55 AM CDTEF1Franklin, AR3.91,200$30,000
May 73:08 AM CDTEF1Washington, AR2.8550$30,000
May 73:44 AM CDTEF0Crawford, MO0.775
May 73:45 AM CDTEF1Franklin, MO0.3150
May 74:21 AM CDTEF0Saint Charles, MO2.250
May 72:05 PM CDTEF0Boone, IL to WI14.350$60,000
May 72:18 PM CDTEF1Walworth, WI1.050$100,000
May 75:11 PM EDTEF1Cass, MI11.7950
May 75:41 PM EDTEF2Saint Joseph, MI19.59501
May 75:55 PM EDTEF2Kalamazoo, MI10.930012$50 million
May 76:07 PM EDTEF1Branch, MI1.1100
May 76:11 PM EDTUnratedSteuben, IN0.11
May 77:47 PM EDTUnratedRush, IN0.830
May 77:50 PM EDTEF2Mercer, OH8.1400$50,000
May 78:02 PM EDTEF0Shelby, IN0.850$30,000
May 78:03 PM EDTEF1Rush, IN4.675$47,000
May 78:05 PM EDTEF1Rush, IN0.230$30,000
May 78:08 PM EDTEF1Fayette, IN2.9150$50,000
May 78:16 PM EDTEF0Paulding, OH0.525$10,000
May 78:20 PM EDTEF2Mercer, OH6.4300$350,000
May 78:24 PM EDTEF1Darke, OH11.7800$500,000
May 78:25 PM EDTEF0Decatur, IN4.5100$50,000
May 78:42 PM EDTEF0Crawford, IN0.280
May 78:54 PM EDTUnratedPutnam, OH0.15
May 77:56 PM CDTEF1Franklin, IN to OH8.0300$10,000
May 79:20 PM EDTEF1Butler, OH2.4200$200,000
May 79:23 PM EDTEF0Clark, IN1.260
May 79:57 PM EDTEF0Butler, OH0.380$20,000
May 710:05 PM EDTEF0Warren, OH0.3100$15,000
May 710:08 PM EDTEF1Warren, OH2.6150$200,000
May 710:14 PM EDTEF0Warren, OH0.450$20,000
May 710:15 PM EDTEF1Warren, OH2.7350$500,000
May 710:27 PM EDTEF0Warren, OH0.5150$50,000
May 710:27 PM EDTEF0Clinton, OH1.380$10,000
May 711:49 PM EDTEF0Licking, OH3.0100$50,000
May 712:02 AM EDTEF1Muskingum, OH0.4128$100,000
May 712:17 AM EDTEF1Coshocton, OH0.1197$100,000
May 711:54 PM CDTEF2Hancock, OH to WV, PA15.32001$10,000
May 712:30 AM CDTEF2Garland, AR12.2600
May 71:49 AM EDTEF1Allegheny, PA0.2150$75,000

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.