OHIO — Damage is being reported following severe weather early Wednesday that prompted several tornado warnings across central Ohio, including at least one report of a confirmed tornado near Springfield.
Spectrum News 1 is breaking down the reported damage by region.
Clark County
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Clark County, northeast of Dayton, with several reports of damage to homes. Emergency management officials said the tornado struck Springfield Township with reports of collapsed buildings. The agency is working with area fire departments to assess the damage.
Officials are asking people to stay away from the area of Mitchell Road, Crabill Road and Ridge Road, and to watch out for downed power lines. They are asking drivers to avoid Ohio 41 as well. Additional damage has been reported along Newlove Road in Harmony Township. Officials suggest those looking to go to the area of South Charleston find another way.
A Spectrum News 1 Ohio crew in the area reported seeing downed power lines, uprooted trees and property damage. That included, in an area off Ohio 41, a farm with silos missing their tops and large sheets of metal on a fence. Next to the farm was a home with its roof partially torn off, exposing upstairs bedrooms.
Local police, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Department of Transportation were all on scene assessing the damage.
University Suites in Fairborn had part of its roof damaged. (Photo Courtesy Claire Colwell)
Madison County
To the east, damage has been reported in neighboring Madison County. Officials there told Spectrum News 1 Ohio that damage has been reported at the Madison County Airport, just north of London.
The street leading up to the airport is closed about a mile away from the damage to keep residents safe. Debris from the airport hanger and downed power lines were reported in the area.
“The tornado appeared to have hit our airport madison county airport. We received devastating damage to a lot of the hangars in that area. It moved across continuing kind of in a northeast direction, hitting the Ohio State University’s Molly Karen Center,” said Sheriff John Swaney. “There were several structures in that center that were damaged.”
Damage has been reported in other areas of the county, with several buildings damaged and trees down.
Franklin County
In the Columbus-area, damage was reported in the community of Hilliard. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, but residents are being asked to use caution if they do travel this morning.
One resident on Rome Road in Hilliard had disfigured trees and a street sign blown into her yard while the wind tore part of the roof of her home.
“We got down about five steps, and then I heard all the windows blow,” said Bonnie Rice. “Then in five minutes it was over. And then we walked back up and the whole house is gone. It’s just gone, everything is gone.”
Several thousand Ohioans lost power as the storms moved through. More than 18,000 customers were without power statewide as of 10:20 a.m., with most outages reported from near Dayton extending to the east of Columbus.
Many school districts in areas impacted by the storm delayed the start of classes Wednesday. Officials encouraged parents to check with their school districts for information on start times and delays.
The National Weather Service in Wilmington said it will dispatch teams to evaluate damage left behind by Wednesday morning’s storms. The teams will examine damage to determine the strength and path of any tornadoes that touched down. The storm survey is expected to be released in the next few days.
Montgomery County
Fallen trees damaged several homes in Riverside, breaking through roofs.
Spectrum News 1 Ohio crews also saw damage to multiple shops in the Airway Shopping Center. Employees said they were shocked when they showed up for work, with windows blown out, holes in the roof and damage in the stores.
Owners had to quickly determine what they could to prevent any further damage.
“It’s going to be a long day that’s for sure. We’ll get it taken care of,” said Mark Parker, maintenance supervisor.
Winds were so strong, that bags of mulch and dirt weighing about 35 pounds each were thrown about 30 feet away from one of the front doors of the shops.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
The base suffered damage to several buildings, including the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s Restoration Hanger 4, Gate 22B, according to a press release. Officials are currently assessing the damage. These include the 88th Civil Engineer Group, base safety personnel and first responders.
“Our initial assessment from this morning’s storm is the damage is isolated to the southern side of Area B. Our initial focus right now is on safety and damage assessment,” said Col. Travis Pond, 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander, in the release. “I can’t speak highly enough about our security forces, fire department and civil engineer airmen for their quick response and hard work to assess damage and determine a path forward for restoring operations as quickly as possible.”
Photos of the scene showcase damaged planes, broken windows, ripped down siding and caved in doors.
Check back for updates.
Reporters Jamilah Muhammad, Aliah Keller and Alese Underwood, as well as Producers Cody Thompson and Lydia Taylor contributed to this article.
Aaron Hepker
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