DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The National Weather Service in Wilmington confirmed three tornadoes as strong storms moved through Ohio on Monday.
Through Monday, a potent storm system moved through the Ohio Valley, and by the early afternoon formed strong thunderstorms that went on to produce two tornadoes in the Miami Valley, in Middletown and north of New Carlisle, flipping trees and damaging homes. An additional tornado was confirmed near Columbus, an unusual sight this early in the year.
“Typically, in February, we don’t see the warmth and moisture availability that we need to produce a lot of severe weather and in particular tornadoes across the Ohio Valley,” NWS Wilmington Meteorologist Kristen Cassady said.
“Always stay out ahead of the storms and be proactive. Draw the warnings are a little bit longer downstream because we understood that the storms were going to be moving through any warming polygon relatively quickly.”
The weather system not only presented risks to the public. Fast moving storms made issuing warnings difficult to get key messages out to the public with advanced notice.
Shocking to some, early severe weather signifies the importance of knowing what to do and where to go when a warning is issued.
“Rehearsing where you would go if you needed to seek shelter, and so that way, when the warnings are issued, when you maybe get the alert on your phone or mobile device, you can put that plan into action very quickly and help keep yourself safe.”
