Wet and Cool in the East this Memorial Day Weekend; Well Above Normal Temperatures in the Northern Plains

A wet Memorial Day weekend is in store for the East, with widespread rainfall of 1 to more than 2 inches expected from the Gulf Coast to southern New England. Well above normal temperatures are forecast to build across the northern Plains. Another round of heavy to excessive rainfall is expected to impact the western Gulf Coast this weekend with Flood Watches in effect. Read More >

Overview

A brief landspout tornado occurred between Ottawa, OH and Leipsic, OH in Putnam County. The andspout was only on the ground for 1 minute, but did cause damage to a home on Road H5. The home sustained moderate loss of the roof and siding, and an attached garage also collapsed. Debris was scattered northeast of the property.

Thank you to everyone who sent us photos, videos, and reports to our social media!

Read more about the landspout here in our Public Information Statement

A photo taken of the tornado near State Road 65 and Road H5. Photo taken by Beth Pneuman, relayed by Kaylee Bowers (WTOL) on Facebook

Landspout
Photos
Radar
Storm Reports
Environment

Landspout:

Tornado - 3 SSE Leipsic
PUTNAM COUNTY, OH

Date	March 5, 2024
Time (Local)	2:34-2:35 PM EST
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	70 MPH
Path Length	0.21 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A brief EF-0 landspout tornado occurred south of Leipsic, Ohio this afternoon. Several photos and videos were taken of the tornado along SR65 near the intersection with Road H5. The tornado caused damage to one home on Road H5, with loss of the roof, shingles, and some siding. A poorly built attached garage collapsed, and debris could be seen scattered to the northeast of the home. The tornado quickly dissipated in an open field just north of the intersection of Road H5 and Road 5H, just east of SR65.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ Fil

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Photos

Damage photos taken by the Putnam County EMA office


Damage to a home near SR65 and Rd H5 south of Leipsic (Putnam County Emergency Management)	Damage to a home near SR65 and Rd H5 south of Leipsic (Putnam County Emergency Management)	Damage to a home near SR65 and Rd H5 south of Leipsic (Putnam County Emergency Management)	Damage to a home near SR65 and Rd H5 south of Leipsic (Putnam County Emergency Management)

Radar

Satellite and Radar Loops from the afternoon of March 5th (landspout occurred at 2:34 PM ET or 19:34Z)


GOES East visible satellite loop over northwest Ohio 1916-1956Z	KIWX 0.5° reflectivity (left) and velocity (right) 1915-1956Z	3-D reflectivity (1937Z)

Storm Reports

0229 PM Landspout 3 S Leipsic 41.06N 83.98W
03/05/2024 Putnam OH Emergency Mngr

A brief EF-0 landspout has been confirmed
near Leipsic, OH. Emergency manager and
trained spotters confirmed tornado. Several
photos and videos of the landspout along
SR65. One home near the intersection of Road
H5 and SR65 sustained damage to the roof and
siding. An attached garage collapsed and
debris was scattered to the northeast of the
property. Time estimated from radar.

Environment

The landspout in Leipsic developed in an minimally favorable environment for landspouts. The non-supercell tornado parameter at 20Z (3PM) was zero. The only two favorable parameters at 20Z were the bulk shear of 40 kts and the low LCL heights between 500-750 meters. The 21Z WPC fronts analysis (figure 3) depicts a quasi-warm front/stationary front draped across the area, which could have also aided in the formation of the landspout.


Figure 1: 0-3km MLCAPE at 20Z	Figure 2: 20Z Enhanced Stretching Potential	Figure 3: 21Z Surface Map from WPC showing a quasi-warm front across the IWX CWA