Rare February tornado outbreak in central Ohio sets records

Columbus and Central Ohio Weather

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)–The sound of tornado sirens in the predawn hours of Feb. 28 was a sign that spring storm season had arrived early. For the second year in a row, tornadoes touched down in multiple locations around central Ohio during meteorological winter (December-February).

The National Weather Service in Wilmington counted eight tornadoes that caused pockets of damage between Dayton and Newark paralleling the Interstate 70 corridor. A final tornado was confirmed in eastern Ohio in Monroe County by the Pittsburgh NWS office.

Confirmed Tornadoes on Feb. 28, 2024 (Enhanced Fujita Scale)

• Near Riverside (EF1/100 mph)

• Near Springfield (EF2/130 mph)

• East of London (EF1/110 mph)

• Hilliard (EF1/110 mph)

• West of Darbydale (EF0/70 mph)

• Near Harrisburg (EF0/70 mph)

• Near Groveport (EF0/75 mph)

• Near Jersey (EF2/120 mph)

• Near Ozark (EF2/120 mph)

Unseasonably mild, moist air arrived ahead of low pressure during the night of Feb. 27-28 tracking from near Chicago to Lower Michigan, which added spin to an energized, unstable atmosphere with strong winds aloft.

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The unseasonably powerful thunderstorms evolved in a strong El Niño pattern — a warming of the eastern tropical Pacific — that typically fuels a strong subtropical jet stream. The interaction of unseasonably warm air (60s), moisture, and a cold front with frigid air, which caused temperatures to plummet more than 40 degrees in 24 hours, provided an ideal setup for severe weather.

Andrew Hatzos, a meteorologist at the NWS in Wilmington, explained why so many storms produced damage.

“We observed as many as four simultaneous circulations associated with these storms, extending from Hilliard southward to Harrisburg at about 5:30 a.m.,” he said. “At one time or another, all four of these circulations produced tornadoes.”

Hatzos pointed out that the squall line had characteristics of supercell thunderstorms that are associated with more intense rotation (mesocyclone) through the column.

“When that occurred, it resulted in the strongest tornadoes from the event — the EF2 near Springfield, and the EF2 near Blacklick/Jersey,” he said.

“Multiple circulations in similar situations have also been observed in our area in numerous other weather events, with Oct. 26, 2010 and March 1, 2017 as two examples,” Hatzso said.

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The first tornado in the outbreak early Wednesday formed just south of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a little before 4:40 a.m., in Montgomery County northeast of Dayton, and traveled 2.4 miles into Greene County, damaging a hangar, planes going through restoration, and property around the National Museum for the U.S. Air Force.

A stronger tornado packing 130 mph winds developed four miles southeast of Springfield in Clark County and tracked 21.3 miles, lifting four miles northeast of London. The storm caused significant damage to Madison County Airport and the OSU Molly Caren Agricultural Center, between U.S. Route 40 and I-70.

Several homes had roof damage, and about a dozen barns and outbuildings were struck. Farther east, the second story of a home was destroyed. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The path width reached 500 yards.

Another tornado was spotted a mile east of London that tracked 9.2 miles, ending two miles southeast of West Jefferson. The storms tipped a trailer, damaged the roof of a home, and snapped off tree trunks.

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Two rotating thunderstorm cells spawned five tornadoes in Franklin County, including a storm that damaged several homes and a garage north of Roberts Road in Hilliard near Hilliard-Rome Road. Several weak storms touched down south of the city.

Another storm developed three miles east of Gahanna and traveled 14.1 miles to near Jersey in Licking County. One home lost a roof and exterior wall as the storm intensified, with debris strewn for hundreds of yards, before the storm crossed into Licking County. At its peak, the storm’s damage path was 300 yards wide. Numerous trees were blown down, covering roads, and a few barns were damaged or destroyed north of Pataskala.

Last year, five tornadoes were recorded in the region on Feb. 27, 2023, which had held the previous February record for tornadoes since 1950. The EF2 tornado in southeastern Franklin County was the strongest recorded in February since Feb. 22, 1971. The path length of the EF2 storms are also the longest measured in February in Ohio records since 1950.

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