Tornado confirmed near Fort Recovery, NWS says

Severe storms Friday afternoon touched off Ohio’s first tornado of the year.

Radar indicated a tornado at 4:11 p.m. in Mercer County.

“A confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was located over Fort Recovery, moving east at 30 mph,” the National Weather Service in Wilmington reported.

Capt. Doug Timmerman of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office said no injuries have been reported.

“I do know we’ve got some barns damaged, there might be some damage to a local lumber yard down there,” he said. “I don’t know the extent of it but there are reports that the roads are shut because there’s debris on the roadway.”

Timmerman said much of the damage has been reported near the intersection of Fort Recovery-Minster Road and Burrville Road, east of Fort Recovery.

Sheriff’s deputies and several fire departments were on the scene as of about 6 p.m. Deputies are working to deploy a drone so they can assess the extent of damage.

There is a widespread power outage in the area, Timmerman said. AES Ohio, formerly Dayton Power and Light Co., also has crews on the scene. According to the AES Ohio online outage map, there are nearly 1,200 customers without power in Mercer County.

The storm also produced hail between 1 and 1½ inches in diameter, according to the NWS.

About the Authors