At least five confirmed tornados touched down early Wednesday morning in central Ohio and more touchdowns were confirmed in southwest Ohio near Dayton and Springfield.
One tornado hit the community of Jersey in Licking County. The tornado first touched down in Blacklick in Franklin County as an EF-2 tornado before weakening to an EF-1 in Licking County.
The EF scale uses wind estimates based on damage and calculates 3-second gusts estimated at the point of damage, according to the NWS. EF4 tornadoes bring gusts of 166 to 200 mph; EF3, 136 to 165; EF2, 111 to 135; and EF1, 86 to 110.
NWS also confirmed tornados touched down in Montgomery, Greene, Clark and Madison counties. Only the tornados reported in Franklin and Licking County and the one in Clark County near Springfield reached EF-2 status.
The NWS sent out a tornado warning shortly before 5 a.m. in Franklin County urging people to take shelter.
Storm damage was strewn across several communities in the region. Damage affected homes, barns, roads, trees and several airport hangars and other buildings at Madison County's airport off of U.S. 40.
NWS surveyors are traveling across central Ohio to examine multiple reports of damage to confirm if other tornados touched down.
NWS confirmed a tornado touched down briefly in Hilliard near Roberts Road. Part of one home in Hilliard on Westbreeze Drive collapsed into another, scattering damage all over the two properties.
Thazin Nu and her husband David Grove live in the home next to the one that collapsed. Nu told WOSU she and her husband woke up just after 5 a.m. to the sound of their neighbor's home collapsing.
"First we heard the wind, and then it shook the house for like five seconds. Then we heard something hit some part of our house. I thought it was a window, but, you know, we would have heard glass broken," Nu said.
The front part of their neighbors house where the garage once was fell directly into Nu's home into their garage. Nu said her car was still trapped inside the garage but it was miraculously undamaged.
"I'm Buddhist, so I believe in Karma. On this wall was all the garden tools and all the sharp edges. Just now I went in from inside and there's an axe too. Everything flew over my car. Nothing is damaged," Nu said.
Nu said she and her husband have filed a claim with their insurance and are just glad everyone in both homes were uninjured.
Emergency management officials in Franklin County and Licking County confirmed to WOSU that no injuries were reported from the storms.
The NWS said they expect to provide further updates throughout the day.
This story will be updated.
