McCoy: Tornado does damage in county

VW County EMA information

DELPHOS – Although he said it hasn’t been confirmed yet, Van Wert County Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy thinks a tornado struck eastern Van Wert County Wednesday.

According to McCoy, a storm cell moved through eastern Van Wert County at 5:10 p.m. Wednesday just west of Delphos and caused damage over a 1½-mile area. The EMA director noted that, from witness reports and damage observed, he feels a tornado moved through the area, adding that he is waiting on official confirmation from the National Weather Service office in northern Indiana.

The vigorous storm system that moved through the area Wednesday had been forecast several days in advance. Isolated tornadoes were also reported on the ground Wednesday afternoon in northern Ohio close to the Akron area.

McCoy’s damage survey indicated that the suspected tornado initially touched down in a cornfield east of Brickner Road and just south of Lincoln Highway, an area just west of Delphos. The damage path coming out of the field was 25 yards wide, while high winds flattened and ripped corn out of the ground and carried it across Brickner Road.

On the other side of Brickner Road, the suspected tornado moved to the northeast through a bean field and then struck the Craig Beining property at 10671 Brickner Road, ripping numerous shingles off a barn roof and a door off of the north side of a barn.

The storm then crossed Lincoln Highway and struck the Joe Wittler property at 23121 Lincoln Highway, uprooting a tree and tearing several limbs out of other trees. It then ripped a barn door off the east side of another building, and ripped off a barn door on the north side of a larger barn and tore off a number of slate shingles from the barn’s roof.

According to McCoy, Wittler saw that the approaching tornado was rain-wrapped, but all he could see were the shingles from the neighbor’s barn swirling around in the rain as it approached him. Wittler said he heard a loud whoosh and it hit before the family could even get to the basement.

The path of the storm continued northeast cutting through two bean fields and then crossed Pohlman Road, crossing another bean field. At the Gordon Moenter property at 9874 Shenk Road, damage in the field was still measured at 25 yards wide. There, a large tree was split and the roof was torn off a barn. The roof was found in splintered pieces across the road and out into a bean field. The tornado also tore the door off the east side of another barn.

The suspected tornado continued northeast through two more bean fields, with the funnel finally lifting back up out of the field before reaching the intersection of U.S. 30 and Ohio 66.

No injuries and no damage to homes were reported, and McCoy estimated the tornado winds as “high end EF-0,” causing scattered damage.

The EMA director said this morning that NWS officials would be in the area around noon today to confirm his survey.