Tornado season already rivals 2023 numbers

FINDLAY — Tornado season in Ohio has just arrived, and it's already on track to rival last year's numbers. The National Weather Service has confirmed 12 tornadoes touched down in Ohio on Tuesday. NWS survey crews spent the day Wednesday looking for storm damage in Butler, Coshocton, Darke, Jefferson, Mercer, Paulding and Warren counties in Ohio, as well as Franklin County, Indiana, and Hancock County, West Virginia, according to the NWS offices in Wilmington and Pittsburgh. Karen Clark, a meteorologist with the weather service office in Cleveland, said the season varies every year. "We did have a high number of tornadoes last year, and this year appears to be on track for it," said Clark. "Every year, we do see a certain amount of variables. Sometimes it's low, other times it's above normal." On March 14, three houses were destroyed and nine more were damaged in Hancock County's Orange Township. The storm also downed power poles in the area and damaged other structures and fields. There were no injuries. Early surveys indicated an E1 tornado touched down briefly in the rural Jenera area. Wind speeds were estimated at 100 mph to 105 mph, and the tornado measured about 100 yards wide. From 1993 to 2022, the average number of tornadoes in Ohio was 21 per year, according to the weather service. In 2023, there were 60 confirmed tornadoes. So far this year, 48 tornadoes are expected to be confirmed. The number could change as the canvas continues for Tuesday's outbreak. All tornado information is considered preliminary until published as official storm data. The weather comes on the heels of a stormy April in which the U.S. had 300 confirmed tornadoes, the second-most on record for the month and the most since 2011, according to the Associated Press. According to the NWS, a recent study published in Climate and Atmospheric Science shows that "Tornado Alley" may be drifting to the east, bringing it much closer to Ohio. The study by Vittorio A. Gensini of Northern Illinois University and Harold E. Brooks of the National Severe Storms Laboratory looked into the possibility that tornado frequencies are changing across the United States. Their findings include a decrease in the Great Plains' traditional "Tornado Alley" and an increase in the Southeast's "Dixie Alley." The area considered to be Tornado Alley is based on tornado data from 1921 to 1995, and includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. However, over the past 20 years, powerful tornadoes have been on the rise in the Midwest and southeastern U.S. Clark said the NWS' staffing model is designed to keep pace with active storm seasons, as it works to alert the public to threatening weather conditions. "We have managed other active years. Our staffing model expands with active weather and decreases in calm weather," she said.