Seventh Ohio tornado in a week touches down near Leipsic. Here's what we know

Chad Murphy, Columbus Dispatch
·3 min read
Security camera footage captured a tornado moving through Madison County last week. The tornado was classified as an EF1 twister on the Enhanced Fujita scale by the National Weather Service.
Security camera footage captured a tornado moving through Madison County last week. The tornado was classified as an EF1 twister on the Enhanced Fujita scale by the National Weather Service.

Another tornado touched down in Ohio -- the seventh in a week -- when a landspout was spawned by Tuesday's storms in western Ohio.

The EF0 tornado occurred between Ottawa and Leipsic in Putnam County, Ohio, around 2:34 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service office in Northern Indiana, which covers the northwest portion of Ohio. It had estimated winds of around 70 mph, was about 50 yards wide and left a path of about 0.21 miles.

The Putnam County Sheriff's office and trained spotters reported damage to a home along Road H5 just east of State Road 65, according to the weather service. It was on the ground for only a minute before moving northeast and dissipating in an open field along Road 5H.

Where is Ottawa, Leipsic and Putnam County, Ohio?

Putnam County is in northwest Ohio, near Findlay and Bowling Green. It's about 100 miles north of Dayton, and 70 miles southwest of Toledo. Ottawa and Leipsic are villages in Putnam County.

How are tornadoes confirmed?

The weather service says crews will need to survey possible tornado damage in person. Meteorologists were conducting those surveys Wednesday, focusing on the Interstate 70 corridor between the Dayton metro area and the Columbus metro area, where the damage appears to be concentrated.

The pattern of damage, not how much damage was caused, determines whether it was a tornado, according to the weather service. For tornadoes, with their violently rotating columns of air, damage often has a chaotic appearance, with larger uprooted trees often crossing each other. Weather service surveyors often look at larger uproots of trees to get a true idea of where the wind was blowing from.

Did tornadoes touch down in Ohio? How the National Weather Service confirmed 6 twisters

Landspout vs. tornado?

A landspout is a non-supercell type of tornado, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It has a narrow, rope-like condensation funnel that forms while the thunderstorm cloud is still growing. There is no rotating updraft like a tornado spawned from a supercell. The spinning motion in a landspout originates near the ground.

A waterspout is similar, except it occurs over water.

Where else have tornadoes struck in Ohio lately?

The NWS confirmed six tornadoes last week:

Storm damage: Ohio tornado hits Air Force museum hangar, damages planes at Wright-Patterson in Dayton

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: Where is Putnam County? Area sees seventh Ohio tornado in a week