PLYMOUTH, Ohio — The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF2 tornado with winds estimated at 120 mph touched down in Richland County amid the strong storms that swept through portions of Ohio on Thursday night.
“Tornado began along Marsh Road just northeast of New Washington in Crawford County and continued east into northern Richland County, lifting along Willet Road east of Plymouth Township,” according to an update from the National Weather Service on Friday. “The peak intensity was EF2 with winds estimated at 120 mph in Auburn Township and Plymouth Township.”
The National Weather Service says the tornado was on the ground “for slightly over 10 miles” with a max width of 250 yards.
Additionally, an EF1 tornado in southern Hancock County was also confirmed by the NWS. Officials say that several homes and farm buildings were damaged.
3News' Austin Love reported live from Plymouth in Richland County early Friday morning where he spoke with a man about the impacts he experienced during the storm.
“I was at work, but my wife was home by herself," Chad Stumbo said live on GO! "I’m watching the alerts on TV, texting her and I said, ‘Get in the basement.’ She did. Then five minutes later she was like, ‘I don’t know what happened.’"
Jenny Beverage also recounted her experiences.
“We got down on the ground and covered up the girls, we shielded them with our bodies,” Beverage said.
It was terrifying for Jenny and her family in Plymouth, she said they ran to their basement just minutes before a tornado ripped through.
“Scared, afraid we were going to die, I just prayed the entire time,” Beverage told 3News’ Bri Buckley.
Those prayers were answered and her entire family was safe, including their livestock.
Their roof, barn, camper, and majority of their property was damaged or completely destroyed.
“We lost some roof, our wraparound porch is gone, all of our trees are pretty much gone, we had a wood shed and a wood burner, the wood shed is completely gone, our barn is completely destroyed,” Beverage said.
Their village came together to help with repairs immediately, working to cover the roof before nightfall.
“Hopefully it wont take too long but we'll probably be picking up pieces for awhile,” Beverage said.
The Richland and Crawford County EMA directors said just a few houses were damaged in the tornado's miles-long path.
And no one was injured, a miracle given the damage.
“If you think of something a football field wide rolling across your property with 120 mile an hour winds, it took things in every direction,” Jette Cander, Crawford County EMA director. “What it looks like in the trees for us is like they were put in a blender.”
Emergency officials are now sending a warning for next time, saying weather patterns are changing and tornadoes are becoming more common urging everyone to sign up for emergency alerts.
“Be prepared, pay attention too, you really cant just ignore it or think its going to happen somewhere else because its happened right here,” said Rebecca Owens, Richland County EMA director.
Additionally, an EF3 tornado struck Logan County near Indian Lake, leaving three people dead. Gov. Mike DeWine was in the area on Friday.