Days after fatal tornado outbreak, Ohio to mark Severe Weather Awareness Week with siren test

As Ohioans pick up the pieces after being struck by two tornado outbreaks — the latest leaving 3 dead — the Ohio Emergency Management Agency will begin its annual statewide preparedness drill with a test of emergency sirens statewide at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday.

The test is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which began Sunday and runs until Saturday. The goal is for communities and families to go over their emergency plans in the event of severe weather and to make sure they are prepared for events like tornado.

NWS releases additional details on one of last week's tornadoes

National Weather Service offices have confirmed a total of eight tornadoes struck Ohio during Thursday night's outbreak, and on Monday released additional details about one of the tornadoes that hit west-central Ohio.

The NWS Wilmington office reported Monday that the tornado that the EF2 tornado that struck Darke and Miami counties in west-central Ohio had estimated maximum winds of 120 mph, was 250 yards wide and traveled just over 24 miles.

It was among six tornadoes in Ohio confirmed by the NWS office in Wilmington, along with two more confirmed by the NWS Cleveland office, bringing the total that struck Ohio to eight.

In addition, NWS Wilmington confirmed a seventh tornado in its coverage area that struck Switzerland County, Indiana, and crossed the Ohio River into Carroll County, Kentucky, but which did not enter Ohio.

NWS Wilmington said it believes "numerous long-track tornadoes" occurred in Thursday night's outbreak, which brought the total number of tornadoes in Ohio this year to 17 so far. By comparison, Oklahoma, a state which has long been considered part of so-called "tornado alley," had zero tornadoes through the end of last week.

Four of the total eight tornadoes that hit Ohio and were confirmed by the NWS offices were rated at EF1 and three others were EF2s. The strongest tornado, an EF3, is the one that resulted in three deaths in the Lakeview area at Indian Lake in Logan County.

Unlike NWS Cleveland did with its two tornadoes, NWS Wilmington on Friday did not initially release estimated maximum wind speeds, estimated widths or final track statistics for all of the six confirmed Ohio tornadoes in its coverage area, saying that information would be released over the next several days. That's what Monday's announcement was, updating the information about the tornado in Darke and Miami counties in west-central Ohio.

Here are the six Ohio tornadoes confirmed by NWS Wilmington, listed in order of strength rating and where they struck.

• The strongest tornado NWS Wilmington reported from the outbreak was an EF3 in and around Lakeview and Orchard Island on the shores of Indian Lake in Logan County, where three people were killed and more than two dozen others were reported injured. The NWS said that tornado began near Fryburg in southern Auglaize County and continued through the Lakeview area in northern Logan County.

• An EF2 tornado in central Union County near Broadway, an unincorporated area in in western Taylor Township. This tornado reached maximum wind speeds of 125 mph, was 600 yards wide and traveled for 11 miles. There were no reports of fatalities or injuries.

• An EF2 tornado that moved into Darke County, Ohio, from Randolph County, Indiana, and which continued into northwestern Miami County.

• An EF1 tornado that touched down in far western Mercer County, along the Ohio-Indiana border, west of Celina. The tornado reached wind speeds of 100 mph and had a path width of 450 yards. It traveled 9.6 miles before dissipating.

• A second EF1 tornado that began in eastern Mercer County and went into western Auglaize County, west of Wapakoneta. The twister reached wind speeds of 105 mph, was 1050 yards wide and traveled for 16.1 miles.

• An EF1 tornado that the NWS now believes started in central Delaware County and continued into north central Licking County. The NWS estimates that it reached wind speeds of 100 mph, was 600 yards wide and traveled 36.3 miles. The NWS Wilmington office previously did not include Delaware County with this tornado, which passed between north of Johnstown and south of Utica.

The NWS office in Cleveland earlier Friday reported two other Ohio tornadoes from its surveys, and their information included wind speeds, width and distance traveled:

● An EF2 tornado that touched down in Crawford and Richland counties had a top estimated wind speed of 120 mph, was about 250 yards wide and was on the ground for about 10 miles. That twister started northeast of New Washington in Crawford County, moved east across Auburn Township and into Richland County. The tornado caused extensive damage to homes, outbuildings, trees and power poles along the path.

● An EF1 tornado that touched down in southern Hancock County, about 60 miles south of Toledo, had a maximum wind speed of 105 mph, was an estimated 100 yards wide and was on the ground for 3.35 miles. It started in Orange Township and traveled east, damaging several homes and outbuildings along the path.

On Feb. 28, the NWS reported a total nine tornadoes struck across Ohio in the pre-dawn hours. Seven of them hit central Ohio, including five in Franklin County (one of which was an EF2 that crossed into Licking County and downgraded to an EF1 as it continued through Pataskala and Jersey Township to a point just southwest of Granville), two in Madison County, and one each in Clark County near Springfield and in the Malaga area in northern Monroe County in eastern Ohio. One of the Madison County tornadoes caused severe damage to the Ohio State Agriculture Center and the Madison County AIrport north of London.

Of those nine tornadoes, three were EF2s, three were EF1s, and three in southern Franklin County (including one that went into northern Pickaway County) were EF0s.

Did tornadoes touch down in Ohio? How the National Weather Service confirms twisters

How are tornadoes rated?

The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

• EF0: Weak, with wind speeds of 65 to 85 mph

• EF1: Weak, 86 to 110 mph

• EF2: Strong, 111 to 135 mph

• EF3: Strong, 136 to 165 mph

• EF4: Violent, 166 to 200 mph

• EF5: Violent, greater than 200 mph

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: National Weather Service confirms Ohio tornadoes