NWS confirms EF0 tornado swept through Fairfield and Pickaway counties

Cole Behrens, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
Two young men (one is obscured by the trees at left) play in Millikin Falls at Quarry Trails Metro Park. With heavy rains falling this weekend, the normally pleasant creek was roaring Sunday afternoon. A few minutes after this picture was taken, a park ranger kindly requested the boys stay away from the actual waterfall.
Two young men (one is obscured by the trees at left) play in Millikin Falls at Quarry Trails Metro Park. With heavy rains falling this weekend, the normally pleasant creek was roaring Sunday afternoon. A few minutes after this picture was taken, a park ranger kindly requested the boys stay away from the actual waterfall.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington has confirmed that a tornado on Sunday traveled through Fairfield and Pickaway counties, causing damage to structures and trees.

The tornado, rated by the weather service as an EFO, or one that is relatively weak with max wind speeds of 65-85 mph, damaged the roof of a home on Kingston Pike in Pickaway Township and left an RV on its side.

A woman was inside the RV at the time of the storm and was treated for non life-threatening injuries at a nearby hospital, according to the Pickaway County Sheriff's office.

Equipment trailers parked outside at Logan Elm High School on Tarlton Road SW reportedly were pushed into adjacent grassy areas.

Additional tree damage was reported near Stoutsville, a village in Fairfield County, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), which said just after noon Monday that a final assessment of the tornado would be released later once a survey report is complete.

A flash flood watch remained in effect through Monday evening for parts of southern and southeastern Ohio, including Gallia, Meigs, Morgan, Perry, Vinton and Washington counties.

Intermittent storms throughout Sunday brought heavy rain to some places in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, according to the NWS.

Areas in Ohio with the highest amounts of rain over the last 24 hours ending 8 a.m. Monday included:

  • Allen County Airport, Lima: 3.51 inches

  • Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport: 2.31 inches

  • Dayton International Airport: 2.10 inches

  • NWS Wilmington: 1.78 inches

  • The Ohio State University Airport: 1.64 inches

  • Lancaster: 1.63 inches

  • Northeast Ohio Regional Airport, Jefferson, Ashtabula County: 1.51 inches

  • Toledo Express Airport: 1.48 inches

  • Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport: 1.41 inches

  • John Glenn Columbus International Airport: 1.39 inches

In Delaware County, Miller-Paul Road is closed south of Trenton Road due to severe culvert erosion from the storms, the county engineer said on Twitter.

Dispatch reporter Monroe Trombly contributed to this report.

Cole Behrens is a reporter at The Columbus Dispatch covering public safety and breaking news. You can reach him at CBehrens@dispatch.com

or find him on Twitter at @Colebehr_report

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: NWS confirms tornado caused damage in Fairfield, Pickaway counties