National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce
May 11, 2014
Straight-line winds in Ross County, OH

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
212 PM EDT MON MAY 12 2014

...MICROBURST /STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE/ CONFIRMED NEAR
ANDERSONVILLE IN ROSS COUNTY OHIO...

LOCATION...4 MILES NORTH OF ANDERSONVILLE IN ROSS COUNTY OHIO
DATE...MAY 11TH 2014
ESTIMATED TIME...1007 PM EDT
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...85 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...1.9 MILES 
PATH LENGTH...2.2 MILES 
BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.4861N / -83.0304W
ENDING LAT/LON...39.4773N / -83.0052W
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON OH HAS CONFIRMED A
MICROBURST /STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE/ NEAR ANDERSONVILLE IN ROSS
COUNTY OHIO ON MAY 11TH 2014.

WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE ROSS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER...THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON COMPLETED A DAMAGE SURVEY
IN EXTREME NORTHERN ROSS COUNTY ON MONDAY MORNING MAY 12TH.

THE SURVEY WAS CONFINED TO AN AREA ON EITHER SIDE OF HIGHWAY 104
SOUTH OF THE VILLAGE OF YELLOWBUD AND NORTH OF ANDERSONVILLE. 

THE SURVEY FOUND THAT A MICROBURST BEGAN WEST OF HIGHWAY 104 AND
LIKELY BETWEEN SWANEY ROAD AND WILLIAMSPORT PIKE. INITIAL DAMAGE
FOUND WAS TO AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM WHICH HAD BEEN TIPPED OVER ON
THE SOUTH SIDE OF SWANEY ROAD. A HOUSE AT THE INTERSECTION OF
SWANEY ROAD AND HIGHWAY 104 LOST PART OF ITS ROOF...WITH THE
NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE ROOF BEING PEELED BACK AND DEPOSITED IN A
SMALL PASTURE ADJACENT TO THE EAST SIDE OF THE HOME. ALSO ON THE
WEST SIDE OF HIGHWAY 104...SEVERAL GRAIN BINS WERE DESTROYED WITH
NUMEROUS TREES BROKEN OR UPROOTED. ON THE EAST SIDE OF HIGHWAY
104...SEVERAL MORE GRAIN BINS SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGE. ONE LARGE
EMPTY GRAIN BIN WAS PUSHED IN AND TOPPLED...WHICH FORCED A
COLLAPSE OF A GARAGE-LIKE STRUCTURE OVER WEIGHING SCALES. AN EMPTY
18-WHEELER TRAILER WAS TIPPED OVER...AND NUMEROUS TREES WERE
UPROOTED OR BROKEN OFF. A STRING OF APPROXIMATELY 12 POWER
POLES...RUNNING ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF HIGHWAY 104 WERE EITHER
PUSHED OVER OR SNAPPED OFF. TREE DAMAGE WAS NOTED DOWN THE HILL
INTO THE SCIOTO RIVER VALLEY...BUT NO DAMAGE WAS NOTED ALONG THE
RIVER ITSELF WHICH SUGGESTS THE TERMINUS OF THE MICROBURST WAS IN
AGRICULTURAL LANDS BETWEEN THE SCIOTO RIVER AND
RESIDENCES/FARMSTEADS ALONG THE RIDGE TO THE WEST.

THE WIDTH OF THE ENHANCED DAMAGE PATH /APPROXIMATELY 1.9 MILES/
AND A STRONGLY DIVERGENT DAMAGE SIGNATURE SUGGESTS THIS DAMAGE WAS
MORE THAN LIKELY A STRONG MICROBURST. DETAILING THIS...THE DAMAGE
ALONG SWANEY ROAD...AND NORTH OF KELLENBERGER ROAD WAS ORIENTED
IN A WEST TO EAST ORIENTATION...INCLUDING DEBRIS FROM THE HOUSE
ROOF...A DAMAGED GRAIN BIN...THE POWER POLES...AND NUMEROUS TREES
IN A CEMETERY. ALONG AND SOUTH OF KELLENBERGER ROAD...DAMAGE WAS
LYING IN A DECIDEDLY NORTH TO SOUTH ORIENTATION...ESPECIALLY BENT
GRASS/HAY IN FIELDS...A VERY LARGE GRAIN BIN THAT HAD BEEN PUSHED
IN AND OFF ITS FOUNDATION...AND TWO GRAIN BINS DESTROYED THAT HAD
BEEN PUSHED SOUTH/SOUTHEAST OF THEIR FOUNDATIONS. TREE DAMAGE
SOUTH OF KELLENBERGER ROAD WAS LYING TO THE SOUTH OR SOUTHEAST IN
MANY INSTANCES...WHILE TREES NORTH OF KELLENBERGER WERE LYING WEST
TO EAST. THIS DIVERGENT PATTERN IN THE DEBRIS...AS WELL AS THE WIDTH
OF THE DAMAGE PATH STRONGLY SUGGESTS NON-TORNADIC WINDS.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/ILN.

FOR REFERENCE...
A MICROBURST IS A CONVECTIVE DOWNDRAFT WITH AN AFFECTED OUTFLOW AREA
OF LESS THAN 2 1/2 MILES WIDE AND PEAK WINDS LASTING LESS THAN
5 MINUTES. MICROBURSTS MAY INDUCE DANGEROUS HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL
WIND SHEARS...WHICH CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE AND
CAUSE PROPERTY DAMAGE. STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS ARE GENERALLY ANY WIND
THAT IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ROTATION...USED MAINLY TO DIFFERENTIATE
THEM FROM TORNADIC WINDS.

$$

BINAU