EF1 tornado, Sherwood to Defiance, Ohio, April 4, 2026

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.

Rating, as surveyed

EF1, preliminary

Date

April 4, 2026

Touchdown

2:18 PM EDT (18:18 UTC)

Lifted

2:24 PM EDT (18:24 UTC)

On the ground

6 minutes

Path length

4.1 miles (6.6 km)

Path width

225 yards (206 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Defiance County

Touchdown point

41.256, -84.396

Lift-off point

41.296, -84.339

Highest wind the damage implies

95 mph

Surveyed by

NWS IWX

The office's name for it

Defiance

Survey last edited

April 5, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

A NWS damage assessment determined that an EF-1 rain-wrapped tornado was embedded in a line of severe thunderstorms that went through Defiance during the afternoon of April 4th. Beginning on the southwest side of town, the tornado produced some minor shingle/tree damage. At least one home was likely destroyed due to a fallen tree. Sporadic, significant tree damage was observed through Riverside Cemetery. The tornado then nearly paralleled S Clinton St as it moved from southwest to northeast. The most impressive damage was done near Davidson and S. Clinton St where several trunks were snapped, a branch lodged into a roof, and several wooden transmission lines were snapped. The circulation continued into downtown Defiance, uprooting/snapping trees, and producing minor to moderate roof damage to numerous businesses including a large church, bank, and USPS building, among others. Notable tree damage was done at the Old Fort before the tornado crossed the river confluence. Video footage from residence confirms a circulation made it across the river. Widespread additional tree and roof damage was then noted in the neighborhoods just north of the Maumee River and west of Carpenter Rd. Finally, several trunks were snapped or uprooted in the Eagle Rock Golf Course before the circulation appears to have dissipated.

Written by NWS IWX in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

56 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS IWX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EFU. The highest wind the damage implies is 98 mph.

• Large trunk snapped. Too far away for picture
• Area of concentrated damage with multiple trees broken/uprooted, a branch driven into roof of home, minor shingle damage, and several power poles broken.
• Roof covering blown off USPS building
• Noteable tree damage at river confluence. Can see trees down across the river too

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Showers and isolated thunderstorms exiting central Indiana encountered a air mass characterized by low instability but high shear. This was enough to produce a tornado that moved through downtown Defiance.

A NWS damage assessment determined that an EF-1 rain-wrapped|tornado was embedded in a line of severe thunderstorms that went|through Defiance during the afternoon of April 4th. Beginning on|the southwest side of town, the tornado produced some minor|shingle/tree damage. At least one home was likely destroyed due|to a fallen tree. Sporadic, significant tree damage was observed|through Riverside Cemetery. The tornado then nearly paralleled S|Clinton St as it moved from southwest to northeast. The most|impressive damage was done near Davidson and S. Clinton St where|several trunks were snapped, a branch lodged into a roof, and|several wooden transmission lines were snapped. The circulation|continued into downtown Defiance, uprooting/snapping trees, and|producing minor to moderate roof damage to numerous businesses|including a large church, bank, and USPS building, among others.|Notable tree damage was done at the Old Fort before the tornado|crossed the river confluence. Video footage from residence|confirms a circulation made it across the river. Widespread|additional tree and roof damage was then noted in the|neighborhoods just north of the Maumee River and west of|Carpenter Rd. Finally, several trunks were snapped or uprooted in|the Eagle Rock Golf Course before the circulation appears to have|dissipated.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:25 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 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.

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:18 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in OhioEvery tornado in Ohio since 1950Warnings in force in Ohio nowThe forecast where you are

3 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.