JACKSON, Ohio (WCMH) — An EF1 tornado touched down in a southern Ohio county on Sunday afternoon as a new record for the state’s most tornadoes in a year is fast approaching.
The National Weather Service surveyed damage in Jackson County and ruled that an EF1 tornado with a peak wind speed of 90 mph touched down at 3:28 p.m. near Mount Zion Road. The tornado remained on the ground of four minutes and spanned nearly four miles, lifting east of US-35 along Pattonsville Road.
Damage found in Jackson County included multiple trees being uprooted along the path, with some falling on vehicles parked at Hope Haven School and Rowdy’s Smokehouse. During its maximum strength, the tornado ripped parts of roofs from two buildings and flipped over a semi trailer. Sunday marked the second tornado in Jackson County this year and eighth of all-time.
Ohio’s total tornadoes for 2024 has now reached 58, which is only four shy of the record of 62 set in 1992. Last year saw 60 tornadoes for the entire year with the average number of tornadoes in Ohio during an entire year being 22.
The winter and spring have produced multiple active storm days including Feb. 28 and March 14 where nine tornadoes were confirmed, and 11 tornadoes on April 2.
The likely reason for this year’s historic early-season activity is linked to an unusually warm winter, mild ground temperatures, virtually no ice on the Great Lakes (record low extent in the satellite era), and abnormally warm water in the Gulf of Mexico.
All of these ingredients supported unstable air and storm energy farther north aided by low-level southerly winds, coupled with a strong jet stream carrying El Niño-fueled Pacific storm systems eastward, which amplified the early-starting severe weather season in Ohio and Midwest.