A severe weather outbreak linked to at least three deaths was linked to numerous confirmed tornadoes in Kentucky and Indiana on Thursday night, in addition to a dangerous half-mile wide tornado that was reported in northern Ohio.
“THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS and dangerous tornado on the ground,” the Cleveland office of the National Weather Service posted on X, the former Twitter platform.
Two tornadic rotations were under observation, according to forecasters: a weaker one in northern Ashland County and one in Crawford County, Ohio.
A few tornadoes were “likely” to be a hazard, according to the weather agency. Additionally, forecasters warned of the possibility of tennis ball-sized hail and sporadic wind gusts reaching 70 mph.
A little more than two weeks after nine tornadoes struck the state on February 28 and destroyed nine structures and downed trees, many counties in central Ohio were also under tornado watches on Thursday night.
⚠️VERY DANGEROUS HALF MILE WIDE TORNADO on the Ground FROM HURON Emergency Management… damage to homes and structures being report. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS and dangerous tornado on the ground!!!⚠️ pic.twitter.com/eZp8aOn3uZ
— NWS Cleveland (@NWSCLE) March 15, 2024
More tornadoes have been recorded in Kentucky, and three deaths in Indiana have been connected to a strong storm.
In Winchester, Indiana, when strong thunderstorms and maybe tornadoes erupted on Thursday afternoon, at least three people lost their lives.
In addition to destroying a Taco Bell and a mobile home park, the storm is said to have caused significant damage to other structures in Randolph County, which is located approximately 85 miles east of Indianapolis. About 8:20 p.m., reports of a funnel cloud were made in southwest Delaware County. EDT
Further southeast, on Thursday, there were multiple recorded tornadoes that caused extensive damage in north-central Kentucky and southern Indiana.
The Indiana Emergency Management Agency reports that two tornadoes, one in Hanover and one in Switzerland County, were confirmed to have occurred outside of Madison, Indiana.
Although a trailer and at least one house were damaged, no injuries have been reported. According to USA TODAY’s tracker, there were close to 9,000 power outages reported throughout the state.
According to Trimble County Emergency Management Director Andrew Stark, a tornado that made landfall in the Kentucky hamlet of Milton damaged at least 50 structures, including residences. There have also been reports of fallen trees and downed power lines.
The outage map provided by USA TODAY shows that over 5,000 outages were recorded in the state.
The biggest overall hazard was seen throughout eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and southern Missouri, but weather service meteorologists had earlier issued a warning that tornadoes and massive hail could potentially threaten portions of north-central Texas and the Midwest.
