Lake Effect Snow through Friday; Heavy Rain, Thunderstorms and Mountain Snow in California

Periods of moderate to heavy lake effect snow will continue through Friday downwind of Lake Erie and Ontario. Several additional inches of accumulating snow are expected. A Pacific storm will bring heavy rain and mountain snow across California, the Southwest and Intermountain West today. Isolated severe thunderstorms and scattered flash flooding is possible across parts of southern California. Read More >

May 24, 2017
Tornado near Octa, OH

Back to the main event page for May 24, 2017

Note: In March 2018, the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio conducted a re-analysis of the tornadoes that occurred on May 24, 2017. After review, it was determined that no changes were necessary to the track details for the Octa EF0 tornado. The original Public Information Statement and tornado track are available below.

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Wilmington OH
119 PM EDT Fri May 26 2017

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR 3 WSW OCTA IN FAYETTE COUNTY OHIO...

Location...3 WSW Octa in Fayette County Ohio
Date...May 24 2017
Estimated Start Time...8:27 PM
Estimated End Time...8:36 PM
Maximum EF-Scale Rating...EF0
Estimated Maximum Wind Speed...50 MPH
Maximum Path Width...25 Yards
Path Length...3.0 Miles
Beginning Lat/Lon...39.5824N / 83.6584W
Ending lat/Lon...39.6173N / 83.6901W
* 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
tornado near 3 WSW Octa in Fayette County Ohio on May 24 2017.

Based on radar data, video evidence and eyewitness reports, the
tornado appeared to first touch down about 3 miles WSW of Octa in
extreme western Fayette County. The tornado then moved northwest
into far eastern Greene County, appearing to make occasional
contact with the ground, before dissipating about 4 miles
southeast of Jamestown.

As the tornado moved through primarily empty farm fields, there
was little in the way of damage found. Therefore, maximum winds
were estimated to be 50 MPH, equivalent to a weak EF0 tornado.

For reference: the Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes
into the following categories:

EF0...wind speeds 65 to 85 mph.
EF1...wind speeds 86 to 110 mph.
EF2...wind speeds 111 to 135 mph.
EF3...wind speeds 136 to 165 mph.
EF4...wind speeds 166 to 200 mph.
EF5...wind speeds greater than 200 mph.

$$

Radar Loops from NWS Wilmington Ohio (8:21 PM - 8:40 PM)
KILN 0.5° Reflectivity	KILN 0.5° Velocity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
KILN 0.9° Reflectivity	KILN 0.9° Velocity
1 2 3 4 5	1 2 3 4 5
KILN 1.3° Reflectivity	KILN 1.3° Velocity
1 2 3 4 5	1 2 3 4 5

Radar Loops from the Dayton Terminal Doppler Radar (8:25 PM - 8:40 PM)
TDAY 0.3° Reflectivity	TDAY 0.3° Velocity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16