6 tornadoes confirmed in Ohio, including EF-3 in Logan, EF-2 in Darke, Miami counties

The National Weather Service in Wilmington is scheduled to conduct the following storm surveys Friday:

An EF-3 tornado was confirmed in Lakeview in Logan County, according to the NWS. This is the same tornado responsible for damage in the Orchard Island area.

An EF-2 tornado was confirmed moving from Randolph County in Indiana, through Darke County and into northwestern Miami County. The tornado dealt EF-1 damage in Darke County and EF-2 damage in Miami County, the NWS said. Another EF-2 was confirmed in Union County near Broadway, which is northwest of Columbus.

Three EF-1 tornadoes have been confirmed — one in western Mercer County, a second one in Mercer County near Celina and ended near Moulton in Auglaize County and the other in Johnstown in Licking County. A fourth EF-1 tornado was also confirmed in Switzerland, Indiana. Additional details, including maxiumum wind speeds and tracking data, will be released once the final assessment is complete.

Darke/Miami counties

The Darke County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday they received reports of injuries, entrapments and structural damage to homes, trailers and other structures after a suspected tornado moved through the county.

The sheriff’s office said that at 8:15 p.m. it received reports of funnel clouds and a possible tornado on the ground in the area of state Route 571 east of Union City, followed by reports of damage and injuries about 15 minutes later.

There have been two people so far taken by EMS to Wayne Healthcare with injuries that were not life-threatening and no fatalities reported, the sheriff’s office said.

Damage seems to follow a path from Union City to Bradford, according to the sheriff’s office, with multiple homes and structures reported damaged on Route 571, Cox Road, Fox Road and Horatio Harris Creek Road.

Fire and rescue agencies from multiple jurisdictions were dispatched to the area along with Darke County deputies and other first responders. Darke County Emergency Management, fire and rescue agencies and deputies are planning to assess the damage in the morning.

Some roads in the affected areas were closed patrolled, with the sheriff’s office asking the public to stay out of the area for their own safety and the security of local residents.

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office said the county was damaged during the storms, but hadn’t received any reports of injuries as of Thursday night.

Joel Smith, Miami County Emergency Management Agency director, said that after a damage assessment Friday, they found the tornado entered the county from Darke County north of Bradford, then proceeded east through Newberry Township and north of Covington. The tornado then seems to have lifted, Smith said, before impacting Piqua.

“Fortunately, there have been no reports of injuries,” Smith said.

In total, Smith said that the EMA assessed damage to 24 properties using FEMA’s damage criteria, including:

The area most affected by the tornado was the area of Klinger Road and Rangeline Road, Smith said, and impacted residents have been advised to contact the Red Cross for assistance.

He added that AES crews had completed repairs to a high-power transmission line along Rangeline Road and are continuing to work to restore service.

Jeff and Julie Slattery, who live on North Rangeline Road in Covington, were eating dinner and watching the news when they heard about storms north of them.

After they started hearing a loud rumbling, they decided to take shelter in the bathroom tub.

“After that all hell broke loose,” Jeff Slatter said. “...Things started flying apart. I’m shocked we’re still alive quite honestly.”

Logan County

Three people have died and multiple injuries have been reported after heavy storms moved through Thursday night, according to the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. The number of injuries were not clear.

First responders from multiple agencies responded to check the Santa Fe, Lakeview, Russells Point and Midway areas.

The Indian Lake area attracts thousands of visitors annually for boating, swimming, fishing and other outdoor activities.

The Logan County Emergency Management Agency announced that a suspected tornado directly hit multiple structures in the Lakeview and Russells Point areas near Indian Lake, causing injuries and damage.

All major roads near Lakeview and Russells Point are closed, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Logan County EMA said that mutual aid was coming to the area, but asked that nobody self-deploy to Logan County unless directly asked by county officials.

Anyone who needs assistance should call the American Red Cross at 1-800-REDCROSS.

Rodney Frey said the storm sounded “like a locomotive” going through the area. He was heading to his bathroom to take shelter when he said things started to calm down.

“I said, ‘I think it missed us.’ Thank god it did,” he said.

However, his sister wasn’t so lucky. Her house was destroyed. Frey said he only lives about four blocks away and had issues tripping over debris when he came over to help.

Thousands across Logan County are without power following Thursday night storms. Those in the dark totaled 4,261 as of 1 a.m. Friday, according to the AES Ohio outage map.