Remembering 2023’s late March/early April tornado outbreak

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – It has now been almost a year since an outbreak of tornadoes occurred across northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. Multiple twisters were spawned from a powerful weather system late on March 31st into early April 1st, 2023. The official one year anniversary of this outbreak will come late this Sunday into early Monday.

A total of seven tornadoes occurred in our area. Two tornadoes were confirmed in Grant County, two tornadoes occurred in Allen County, two twisters tracked through Jay County, and one tornado was confirmed in Paulding County.

These tornadoes left behind plenty of damage, but thankfully there was not a single fatality or injury during this tornado outbreak. This was the largest tornado outbreak in our area since August 24th, 2016.

The strongest tornado occurred in Gas City, Indiana. This was an EF-3 twister, with 140 mph maximum winds. It was on the ground for 6.35 miles and had a maximum width of 200 yards. Below you can find a photo of the damage to a well-built house the tornado left behind. There was extensive tree damage and houses were destroyed as this intense tornado moved through.

A tornado also touched down in Swayzee in Grant County. It was an EF-2 tornado, with 120 mph maximum winds. It was on the ground for 3.10 miles and had a maximum width of 150 yards. Numerous homes and buildings sustained minor to moderate damage from this tornado, including roof damage to several businesses and a high school. Trees and power poles in and around town were snapped or uprooted.

Three miles northeast of New Haven in Allen County was where the other EF-2 tornado occurred. This one also had a maximum wind speed of 120 mph. It was on the ground for 7.86 miles and had a maximum width of 400 yards. Many homes and farms had minor to major damage. Extensive tree damage and powerline damage occurred, especially along and south of IN-37, where the most significant damaged was observed, especially along Notestine Road.

One mile east of Harlan, Indiana, another weak twister touched down in Allen County. This one was an EF-0, with 75 mph maximum winds. It was on the ground for 1.14 miles and had a maximum width of 75 yards. This tornado produced generally minor tree and building damage.

Two EF-0 tornadoes occurred in Jay County. The first one was in Salamonia, Indiana. This one had a maximum wind speed of 85 mph, was on the ground for 1.54 miles, and had a maximum path width of 175 yards. The second one was in Portland. It had a maximum wind speed of 80 mph, was on the ground for 2.44 miles, and had a maximum width of 100 yards. These tornadoes caused barn, tree, and power pole damage.

Finally, another weak EF-0 tornado occurred three miles northeast of Antwerp in Paulding County, Ohio. This twister had a maximum wind speed of 80 mph, was on the ground for 0.82 miles, and had a maximum width of 150 yards. This twister caused roof and siding damage to several homes, as well as damage to numerous trees.

Outside of the twisters, there was plenty of strong wind, hail, and heavy rain. Multiple wind gusts over 60 mph occurred, hail up to golf ball size was observed, and many locations picked up over an inch of rain.

To learn much more about this outbreak of tornadoes and severe storms, visit this link from the National Weather Service’s website.

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