tom hanlon
EF2
Edited report.. added photos and additional information.
We chased West of Lima when we noticed that the storm in front of the line had developed rotation and was tor warned. We headed west on RT 30 while the storm was still in IN heading straight east at 50 MPH. The NOAA computer voice makes 15 and 50 sound the same but I believe he was saying 50MPH.
By the time we hit the town of Delphos the storm was directly in front of us but we believed we could get south of it. So we turned south. This storm was riding out directly in front of a serious line of storms so even if we avoided the worst of this one we were likely going to get into some nasty weather.
Looking at the storm report from the NWS damage survey Damage Survey , this storm had already produced two brief and minor tornadoes.
Well, so we were on a good storm but we had to stop in Delphos to figure out our position. This storm was a bit messy but it looked like the tornadic part was to our southwest a bit. Directly overhead looked good also. Directly over head with a fast mover like this was good because at the speed that this was moving we could easilly fall in behind and chase safely.
We decided that main inflow was to our southwest and although there was rain it did seem to have a lowering and some messy undefined activity but nonetheless interesting action in that area. So we hauled south on OH Route 66 to get south of that.
What we were probably seeing through the rain was more or less the activity that caused this report from the damage survey.
We hit Landeck road and were due east of the above reported tornado when we started getting pounded by rain and wind. Realizing that we were not going to make it south of the action area although we were very close in retrospect, we bailed and tried to buy some time by heading east.
We drove east on Bockey road and things were looking bad, trees coming down, very high winds. We passed a solid brick house and contemplated seeking shelter. We drove a few 100 yards further saw that the road ended and South or North would be our only options. So we turned around and sought shelter.
We woke the owner of the house up, she later thanked us. She was sleeping and unaware of the danger. We told her that there was likely a tornado in the area and asked for shelter. The porch was on the "good side" protected from the wind. Let her know that we would ask to come in if things got ugly. We parked the car away from any potential falling trees.
We rode the storm out on her front porch.
We witnessed strong winds that mostly came from the north and sometimes the west. Took some still photos but it does not really show the wind very well. She had two big old trees in the yard. I figured when those went down we would go inside.
Well the trees never came down and once things died down we thanked our host and headed out.
Looking at the damage report we were 5 miles due east of what they considered a tornado by NWS assessment of the damage. All the winds we got were mostly unidirectional. It turns out that we would have been safe enough in the car but due to poor visibility and the conditions I am glad that we took shelter when a good oportunity presented itself. Better safe than sorry.
Once that was passed we headed to Lima for data.
Lima unfortunately was trashed. Trees down everywhere.
Our hotel was in the path of the worst of what appear to have been straight line winds. This meant no data for us. This was the hotel we had spent the night before in.
So we headed South on I75 to see if some tail end storms might still have some energy to them.
All in all a fun day. We got a little too close perhaps but we made a good choice to abandon the vehicle without panic and while things were still reasonable. I am thankful that we had a farmhouse and a porch because that made the choice to abandon the vehicle that much easier. As for being that close to the tornadoes and missing them. I really do not think that any "tornadoes" in that storm were very picturesque. Shortlived, extremely rain wrapped, not much to look at.
--
Tom Hanlon
We chased West of Lima when we noticed that the storm in front of the line had developed rotation and was tor warned. We headed west on RT 30 while the storm was still in IN heading straight east at 50 MPH. The NOAA computer voice makes 15 and 50 sound the same but I believe he was saying 50MPH.
By the time we hit the town of Delphos the storm was directly in front of us but we believed we could get south of it. So we turned south. This storm was riding out directly in front of a serious line of storms so even if we avoided the worst of this one we were likely going to get into some nasty weather.
Looking at the storm report from the NWS damage survey Damage Survey , this storm had already produced two brief and minor tornadoes.
Well, so we were on a good storm but we had to stop in Delphos to figure out our position. This storm was a bit messy but it looked like the tornadic part was to our southwest a bit. Directly overhead looked good also. Directly over head with a fast mover like this was good because at the speed that this was moving we could easilly fall in behind and chase safely.
We decided that main inflow was to our southwest and although there was rain it did seem to have a lowering and some messy undefined activity but nonetheless interesting action in that area. So we hauled south on OH Route 66 to get south of that.
What we were probably seeing through the rain was more or less the activity that caused this report from the damage survey.
We hit Landeck road and were due east of the above reported tornado when we started getting pounded by rain and wind. Realizing that we were not going to make it south of the action area although we were very close in retrospect, we bailed and tried to buy some time by heading east.
We drove east on Bockey road and things were looking bad, trees coming down, very high winds. We passed a solid brick house and contemplated seeking shelter. We drove a few 100 yards further saw that the road ended and South or North would be our only options. So we turned around and sought shelter.
We woke the owner of the house up, she later thanked us. She was sleeping and unaware of the danger. We told her that there was likely a tornado in the area and asked for shelter. The porch was on the "good side" protected from the wind. Let her know that we would ask to come in if things got ugly. We parked the car away from any potential falling trees.
We rode the storm out on her front porch.
We witnessed strong winds that mostly came from the north and sometimes the west. Took some still photos but it does not really show the wind very well. She had two big old trees in the yard. I figured when those went down we would go inside.
Well the trees never came down and once things died down we thanked our host and headed out.
Looking at the damage report we were 5 miles due east of what they considered a tornado by NWS assessment of the damage. All the winds we got were mostly unidirectional. It turns out that we would have been safe enough in the car but due to poor visibility and the conditions I am glad that we took shelter when a good oportunity presented itself. Better safe than sorry.
Once that was passed we headed to Lima for data.
Lima unfortunately was trashed. Trees down everywhere.
Our hotel was in the path of the worst of what appear to have been straight line winds. This meant no data for us. This was the hotel we had spent the night before in.
So we headed South on I75 to see if some tail end storms might still have some energy to them.
All in all a fun day. We got a little too close perhaps but we made a good choice to abandon the vehicle without panic and while things were still reasonable. I am thankful that we had a farmhouse and a porch because that made the choice to abandon the vehicle that much easier. As for being that close to the tornadoes and missing them. I really do not think that any "tornadoes" in that storm were very picturesque. Shortlived, extremely rain wrapped, not much to look at.
--
Tom Hanlon
County has been declared a disaster area. Gonna go for a drive later and check out the damage now that roads are being reopened.
