Tornadoes · United States · Ohio · 2025

EF1 tornado, Glenmore to Wetsel, Ohio, April 2, 2025

From Glenmore to Wetsel, this EF1 tornado ran 0.8 miles across Van Wert County on April 2, 2025, touching down at 10:58 PM EDT and reaching 50 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.

  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
April 2, 2025
Touchdown
10:58 PM EDT (02:58 UTC)
Lifted
11:00 PM EDT (03:00 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
0.8 miles (1.3 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Van Wert County
Touchdown point
40.775, -84.698
Lift-off point
40.780, -84.683
Record number
2504022058-01

The damage survey

29 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS IWX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 105 mph.

  • Older structure. Splattering noted on east and north walls
  • Older structure appears to have slid.
  • Half of barn roof lifted off
  • Insulation splattering noted on east facing trailer

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

The atmosphere was primed for severe weather during the afternoon and evening hours of April 2nd. 0-1 km SRH values of 300 to 500 m2/s2, 60 to 70 kts of shear and MLCAPE of around 1000 J/KG set the stage for numerous thunderstorms. Damage reports were not as widespread, but those that occurred tended to be in swaths related to cold pools from bowing segments or tornadoes. Eight tornadoes (three in northern Indiana, one which crossed from Indiana into Lower Michigan, one in lower Michigan and three in northwestern Ohio). A total of five injuries were reported (three in NW Ohio and two in N Indiana).

A brief tornado developed in a field east of Glenmore Rd and snapped several trees. The tornado then continued northeast through empty fields and crossed Ainsworth Rd. A outbuilding was completely destroyed along Ainsworth Rd with debris lofted and strewn up to 400 yards away to the northeast in nearby fields. The tornado then dissipated in a field north of Ainsworth Rd near Town Creek. The tornado had a width of 50 yards and maximum wind speeds of 100 mph.

A tornado touched down on the south side of Van Wert, OH where a barn was destroyed on US 127 south of Peter Collins Rd. The tornado continued to the northeast through open fields. Tree and shingle damage was then noted on Middle Point Rd near the intersection with SR 116 where the tornado completely destroyed a two-story barn structure. The tornado might have briefly skipped as it traversed to the northeast before causing noticeable damage on Lincoln Hwy. The tornado then caused some minor damage to a deer farm before destroying a pole barn. After crossing into Putnam county north of the intersection of US 224 and Bockey Rd. the last noticeable damage occurred just northwest of Ottoville. As this tornado dissipated, another tornado formed off just to its north. The total track across the two counties was 15.6 miles with maximum winds of 95 mph.

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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 01:15 UTC and running to 04:21 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
12:53 UTC13:03 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWX
13:18 UTC13:23 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWX
13:39 UTC13:54 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWX
21:00 UTC00:42 UTCFlood WatchIWX
01:15 UTC04:21 UTCTornado WatchIWX
02:19 UTC03:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWX
02:43 UTC03:26 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWX
09:15 UTC14:24 UTCFlood 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 00:55 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

3.0 hours before the tornado, 168 km from the path. April 3, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2025-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 539 joules per kilogram, CIN -13, lifted condensation level 1448 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 2025-04-03The 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 199 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 44 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
539 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1153 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1448 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
199 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
397 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
8.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

9.0 hours after it, 168 km from the path. April 3, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2025-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 5 joules per kilogram, CIN -10, lifted condensation level 709 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 2025-04-03The 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 189 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 51 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
5 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Surface CAPE
65 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
709 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
189 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
118 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 106 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:00 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
02:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ese CelinaMercer, OHNumerous trees down and uprooted. Time estimated from RADAR.
02:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGCelinaMercer, OHTree downed near intersection of Mill and Blake Roads. Time estimated.
02:51 UTCTSTM WND DMGMontezumaMercer, OHPower poles down and trees down in several parts of the county including Montezuma.
02:58 UTCTORNADO1 S GlenmoreVan Wert, OHAn NWS storm survey with coordination with the Van Wert County EMA has confirmed a brief EF-1 tornado near Glenmore, OH from the evening of April 2nd. A brief tornado developed in a field east of Glenmore Rd and snapped
03:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ese GlenmoreVan Wert, OHBarn destroyed at 7225 Ainsworth Road in Ohio City, OH. Time estimated via radar.
03:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGOhio CityVan Wert, OHVillage of Ohio City Fire Dept reporting some poles snapped and some trees down on west side of town.
03:04 UTCTORNADO2 Ese Van WertVan Wert, OHA tornado touched down on the southeast side of Van Wert, OH where tree and shingle damage occurred before the tornado destroyed a two-story barn structure. The tornado might have briefly skipped as it traversed to the n
03:07 UTCTSTM WND GST 651 Ssw Van WertVan Wert, OHEmergency manager reports a 65 mph gust at the Van Wert Fairgrounds measured on a Davis station. Time given by emergency manager.
03:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ese Van WertVan Wert, OHPhotos on X of power poles and tree branches down. A home lost its roof at the corner of Jennings Rd and Mendon Rd. Time estimated via radar.
03:11 UTCTSTM WND DMGMiddle PointVan Wert, OHTree branches reported down.
03:12 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ene DupontPutnam, OHMobile home rolled several times in the 22000 block of county road I-22. 3 injuries reported. Time estimated via radar.
03:12 UTCTSTM WND DMGDupontPutnam, OHSeveral homes with extensive damage in Dupont, OH.
03:12 UTCTSTM WND DMGMiddle PointVan Wert, OHReport of several trees uprooted at Mendon Rd and Middle Point Rd.
03:13 UTCTSTM WND DMGDupontPutnam, OHLarge tree down on a house in Dupont, OH. Time estimated via radar.
03:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ssw OttovillePutnam, OHPart of a barn was reported in the roadway on SR 66 , south of Ottoville.
03:18 UTCTORNADO1 Ne MandalePaulding, OHA second tornado spun up north of the decaying Van Wert tornado, touching down in far southeast Paulding County. The tornado severely damaged a pole barn as it moved into Putnam county. The tornado rapidly moved northeas
03:22 UTCTSTM WND GST 632 Wnw WestminsterAllen, OHAWOS station KAOH 2 WNW Westminster.
03:24 UTCTSTM WND GST 50Middle PointVan Wert, OHMesonet station AT245 Middle Point.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2025 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 2, 2025

87 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 25:13 AM CDTEF1Osage, OK3.7250$10,000
April 26:37 AM CDTEF1Tulsa, OK10.7600$575,000
April 27:29 AM CDTEF2Vernon, MO6.5200$500,000
April 27:30 AM CDTEF1Vernon, MO16.6200$1.2 million
April 28:34 AM CDTEF2Cooper, MO6.1200$100,000
April 211:00 AM MSTUnratedMaricopa, AZ0.55
April 23:13 PM CDTEF3Crawford, MO21.9200$685,000
April 23:16 PM CDTEF1Howell, MO1.1350$10,000
April 23:40 PM CDTEF0Logan, IL12.730
April 24:21 PM CDTEF0Madison, TN1.9150$50,000
April 25:00 PM CDTEF1Iroquois, IL2.3400
April 25:05 PM CDTEF2Bond, IL22.82001$385,000
April 25:09 PM CDTEF0Iroquois, IL2.2300
April 25:32 PM CDTEF1Ripley, MO1.1125$185,000
April 25:56 PM CDTEF2Randolph, AR24.6500$250,000
April 25:56 PM CDTEF2Arkansas, AR8.3100
April 25:59 PM CDTEF1Poinsett, AR7.5400$50,000
April 26:08 PM CDTEF1Effingham, IL2.5125
April 26:13 PM CDTEF2Wayne, MO8.3175$630,000
April 26:21 PM CDTEF1Arkansas, AR0.950
April 26:23 PM CDTEF1Effingham, IL8.3100
April 26:26 PM CDTEF3Poinsett, AR24.21,5008$4.0 million
April 26:28 PM CDTEF2Craighead, AR14.4700$750,000
April 26:29 PM CDTEF0Cumberland, IL4.0150
April 26:32 PM CDTEF2Stoddard, MO14.7600$20 million
April 26:33 PM CDTEF2Cumberland, IL to IN48.91,200$200,000
April 26:36 PM CDTEF1Butler, MO13.4125$2.0 million
April 26:40 PM CDTEF0Poinsett, AR6.575$20,000
April 26:48 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, AR7.6250$135,000
April 27:52 PM EDTEF1Marshall, IN17.8175$610,000
April 26:56 PM CDTEF1Cape Girardeau, MO to IL8.0150$765,000
April 27:02 PM CDTEF1Clark, IL8.1200
April 27:08 PM CDTEF1Union, IL10.050$35,000
April 27:17 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, AR0.375$50,000
April 28:24 PM EDTEF1Parke, IN10.8120$200,000
April 27:25 PM CDTEF0Union, IL1.125$5,000
April 27:30 PM CDTEF1Scott, MO1.0250$600,000
April 27:35 PM CDTEF0Crittenden, AR3.175$30,000
April 27:35 PM CDTEF2Johnson, IL6.2250$525,000
April 27:46 PM CDTEF1Steuben, IN to MI10.8600$200,000
April 28:49 PM EDTEF1Branch, MI3.7125$50,000
April 27:51 PM CDTEF1Williamson, IL3.375$175,000
April 28:00 PM CDTEF2Carlisle, KY9.7200$180,000
April 29:05 PM EDTEF2Hendricks, IN13.02001$1.2 million
April 28:14 PM CDTEF1Saline, IL5.0300$85,000
April 29:15 PM EDTEF1Hendricks, IN1.5300$200,000
April 28:15 PM CDTEF1Dyer, TN4.7100$1.9 million
April 28:18 PM CDTEF2Ballard, KY18.21,0004$3.2 million
April 28:23 PM CDTEF1Gallatin, IL9.2100$170,000
April 29:28 PM EDTEF1Hamilton, IN6.6150$600,000
April 28:35 PM CDTEF1Obion, TN9.3350$325,000
April 29:43 PM EDTEF2Madison, IN to IL, KY2.1250$200,000
April 28:43 PM CDTEF2Livingston, IL to KY12.0150$235,000
April 29:46 PM EDTEF1Madison, IN11.6150$400,000
April 28:51 PM CDTEF2Vanderburgh, IN10.6150$3.4 million
April 28:52 PM CDTEF1Posey, IN1.175$1.2 million
April 29:52 PM EDTEF0Madison, IN4.9100$300,000
April 28:55 PM CDTEF1Vanderburgh, IN17.0230$1.2 million
April 29:57 PM EDTEF2Madison, IN15.2200$3.2 million
April 29:00 PM CDTEF2Weakley, TN6.4350$250,000

All 88 of them

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.