Tornado touchdown twenty years ago

ARCANUM, Ohio (WDTN) - This Thanksgiving marks a somber anniversary in Darke county.  On a warm Sunday afternoon twenty years ago an EF-3 tornado hit Arcanum. 

Forty homes were destroyed, 100 buildings were damaged and losses totaled 16 million dollars.  No one died and only one person was injured.  Today there are still a few scars but there have been many changes because of that tornado from two decades ago.  

The sunny November skies are a beautiful sight today but 20 years ago they were a different color.  Kurt Troutwine remembers what it looked like, "The sky was the weirdest orangey color that evening."

Kurt Troutwine is an insurance agent and Arcanum fire chief. At 7pm he was at home when the EF-3 twister hit.  

Kurt Troutwine, Arcanum Fire Chief says, "Then this air pressure changed and I yelled to my kids and my wife - let's get to the basement. there's a tornado coming though."

The damage was significant - roads were blocked by trees, power was out for days and each house was searched.

"We brought in mutual aid and every house was checked to if anyone was there," says Troutwine

Today the town has minimal scars, the old lumber yard now has houses in its place.  The church has been repaired but there is still one reminder of that day. 

There's one building in Arcanum that you can still see the signs of a tornado - this is the original school house the brick is very old early 19 hundreds but here you can see the new brick that was replaced 20 years ago.  
No one died and only one person in Arcanum was injured from the tornado.  

Today outdoor warning sirens are standing tall around the town.  A reminder to everyone that a taste of summer can pop up even in November. 

Click here to see a track of the tornado.