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A Slight Risk of Severe Thunderstorms is Forecast for Fri (04/03) Scattered to numerous thunderstorms are likely across central and eastern Texas on Friday, with large hail and a few strong wind gusts expected.
A picture of an EF5 tornado striking.Type:UnknownActive:April 23, 2020Duration of tornado outbreak 1:10 hours, 29 minutesMaximum rated tornado 2:tornadoHighest windsUnknownTornadoes confirmed:83Damage:$11.3 billion (2020 )Injuries:534Fatalities:89Areas affected:,1 Time from first tornado to last tornado2 Most severe tornado damage; seeOn April 23, 2020 a large outbreak of tornadoes impacted Ohio, extreme east Indiana, and far north Kentucky. It is the largest outbreak in Ohio's history.
It included an EF5 tornado that struck the Columbus, Ohio area, and did extreme damage in the suburb of New Albany, Ohio. The damage in New Albany has been considered some of the most extreme of all time, and the outbreak is one of the most intense the region has ever seen. The event left 89 people dead and cost $11.3 billion. Contents Meteorological synopsis Preceding severe weatherBefore the main severe weather event on April 23, a local severe weather event impacted Illinois on April 22. No tornadoes occurred with this activity, but one person was injured when a strong wind gust knocked a tree onto their home. Damage from severe wind gusts also occurred on the campus of the University of Illinois during the late evening hours. The activity dissipated by midnight, therefore not affecting the setup on April 23 in any way.April 23The event was well forecast, as models picked up on the event 5 days in advance.
A strong trough was moving east into the Midwest, and the SPC put Ohio and eastern Indiana in a 30% risk area on April 19. This was upgraded to a moderate risk with the day 3 convective outlook, and the NWS Wilmington area forecast discussion noted the possibility of a large-scale tornado outbreak in the region. By the morning of the 23rd, the SPC had a high risk up for much of Ohio, extreme east Indiana, and northern Kentucky. A rare 45% significant tornado risk was centered over central Ohio.
A large outbreak of significant tornadoes was anticipated. Very strong shear overspread the risk area, and widespread MLCAPE values of 3,000 j/kg, good lapse rates, low 70°s dew points, and temperatures in the low 80°s set the stage for the event. Supercells fired along a cold front in eastern Indiana as early as 12:30 PM that day and quickly became tornadic. As the storms moved east, the supercells matured and became prolific tornado producers in extreme east Indiana and western Ohio.
A long track EF4 tornado originated near Richmond, Indiana, and carved a 68.3-mile path of destruction until it dissipated near Urbana, Ohio. Further east in central Ohio, an incredible severe weather setup was in place. A PDS tornado watch had been issued for the high-risk area early in the afternoon, and around 2:30 PM, supercells began to develop ahead of the mainline of already existing supercells along the cold front.
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These new storms instantly became tornadic and produced several strong to violent tornadoes in central Ohio. An EF4 did significant damage in Plain City, Ohio. During the same time, the worst event of the day was unfolding. Around 3:43 PM, a tornado touched down just outside of Franklin County in far east Madison County, tracking northeast. It went on to move just south of downtown Columbus and directly impacted Gahanna and New Albany as an EF5, then dissipating northeast of Johnstown.
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