Despite being the strongest storm to hit the county in 17 years, the county did not meet the threshold of 25 homes being destroyed or majorly damaged to declare a state of emergency through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, local officials say. This means local residents and organizations led the recovery.
“The strength of Clark County lies in the partnerships that have formed throughout this recovery,” said Clark County Emergency Management Agency Director Michelle Clements-Pitstick. “This past year has been a testament to what makes Clark County strong — neighbors helping neighbors, organizations coming together for a common cause, and an unwavering commitment to restoring and rebuilding our community.”
She said the Long-Term Recovery Committee played a crucial role in coordinating resources, many organizations and volunteers helped including community teams and members, faith-based organizations, businesses, and the American Regulators, a non-profit volunteer group specializing in disaster response, recovery, and search and rescue.
The American Regulators team logged 2,556 volunteer hours, helped 29 families at 35 locations with heavy debris removal, and saved families more than $1.4 million in disaster recovery costs.
The storm
The National Weather Service confirmed five tornadoes in Ohio last year, including the EF-2 tornado near Springfield in Clark County, which included damage reported in Madison County, and a tornado in Riverside that continued into Greene County.
The Clark County tornado hit from around 4:50 a.m. to just after 5 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2024.
The storm, which had a path width of 500 yards, traveled 21.3 miles across eastern Clark County into Madison County starting at 4:52 a.m., reaching maximum wind speeds of 130 mph before lifting at 5:15 a.m. in a field near London, according to the NWS. It caused minor injuries to three people.
An EF-2 tornado is considered strong and capable of causing significant damage, and includes wind speeds of 111 to 135 mph, according to the NWS.
Several homes and properties were damaged in the areas of Ridge Road, Newlove Road in Harmony Twp., and Mitchell Road in Springfield Twp., which had the most significant damage. Many community organizations, members and businesses helped with the tornado cleanup and support needed.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The early morning tornado damaged 109 homes, with seven being destroyed, 13 with major damage, 22 with minor damage and 67 being affected in other ways, Clements-Pitstick reported last year.
“As we mark one year since the devastating tornadoes struck Clark County, we reflect on the incredible resilience of our community,” said Clements-Pitstick. “While the immediate response was swift, recovery remains an ongoing process — often the longest phase of any disaster."
‘It was terrifying’
Clark County Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt, whose neighborhood was affected by the tornado, said even though the number of structures destroyed didn’t meet the federal threshold for federal support, the Clark County EMA was able to get people resources, and the state provided some resources as well.
Wilt also experienced minor damage to her home, while some of her neighbors just outside of South Charleston were not so lucky.
Wilt recalls the traumatic day, saying she woke up to the phone alarms going off and “it was terrifying.” Her family sheltered in their basement until they went outside to see the damage at dusk.
Her family lives on a farm and the tornado came between their house and their barn. It damaged their trees, crushed the barn doors and the roof of their house. They have since gotten the barn doors and roof fixed.
“We were very fortunate … Everything was replaceable. Everyone was safe and it could’ve been much worse,” she said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
North of her home, Wilt said her neighbors got it worse. Four houses down, that family lost their entire home. That family has since rebuilt their house. She also said her nextdoor neighbor lost hundreds of mature trees and were still doing work on the house.
“It has made us grateful for what we have but also that our family and our neighbors were safe. All these things are replaceable, given life wouldn’t have been,” Wilt said. “When I look at the damage to the physical structures, I can’t fathom that no one was killed.”
Wilt said she’s lived in the Newlove Road community for seven years and didn’t quite know all her neighbors, but saw the community come together to support each other.
“Now I can say I know just about every neighbor, and I feel confident I can call on them if I have a problem,” she said. “We check on each other in ways that we haven’t before, we now have a group text where we can check on each other and see if they need help. It’s been heartwarming to see the neighborliness be reinstated in our community.”
Wilt’s cousins, the Agles, had their Beaverdale Farms in South Vienna heavily damaged. Bill Agle, one of the farm’s owners who lives on the farm, went to his daughter’s house and sheltered in the basement with her, preferring it over staying in the basement of a farmhouse built in 1857.
Wilt said of all the people who were impacted by the tornado, “those whose homeowner’s insurance cover them, they’re in a much better position to recover quickly.”
Even then, it hasn’t been easy for people like her cousin at their family farm. “While he had adequate coverage, that didn’t take away the pain of generations of our family farm destroyed,” she said.
‘Still work to be done’
Shoji Uota, a Ridge Road resident, said he and his family were asleep in bed when the storm ripped off their roof. He said his family heard a big storm, wind and booms all within less than 10 seconds.
Wilt said she went with Gov. Mike DeWine the day the tornado happened to tour the damage. When she looked at Uota’s house, she said she didn’t know how it was possible the tornado didn’t kill them.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Rebekah and Jon Stewart had their house destroyed on Mitchell Road.
Jon was working out on a treadmill when the weather alert sounded and admits he didn’t take it seriously enough, but Rebekah did. She went into the garage to get Jon when she heard the winds picking up, running upstairs to get their daughter out of the bedroom while her son was in the hallway. By the time she got their daughter out of bed, she had to jump on top of her to shield her.
Credit: Brett Turner
Credit: Brett Turner
The Stewart family pretty much lost everything, including the house, in the tornado but tried to salvage some of their personal items. A new house now stands where the old one was.
“While there is still work to be done, I have no doubt that Clark County will continue to move forward with determination and unity,” Clements-Pitstick said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Clark County has had 18 tornadoes touch down in the 2000s, all of them since 2007, according to NWS data previously reviewed by the Springfield News-Sun.
Last year’s tornado happened around 5 a.m., while most of the other 17 tornadoes happened in the evenings after 5 p.m., except two that touched down just after 7 a.m. and one right before 10 a.m.
Last year’s tornado was the strongest tornado Clark County has had in the last 17 years, as six earlier ones were EF-1 and 11 were EF-0.
Most of the tornadoes happened in April with eight in that month, followed by five in May, three in February, one in June and one in November.
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