Deadly twister hit VW County 20 years ago

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It’s a day longtime residents of Van Wert County will never forget – November 10, 2002.

It was 20 years ago today when a massive F-4 tornado with wind speeds between 207-260 miles per hour tore through the county, killed two people, injured 19 others and left behind tens of millions of dollars in damage. Afterward, it was designated as the worst tornado in Van Wert County history. 

It was a Sunday afternoon when twisters touched down in Hartford City, Berne and Monroeville, Indiana. At approximately 3 p.m. the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Van Wert County and it wasn’t long after that when the deadly tornado crossed the state line and was spotted by the Willshire Fire Department. However, it lifted and spared the village. 

After that, there were many reports of multiple funnel clouds but in reality, it was a quarter-mile wedge tornado that was on the ground and headed directly for the city of Van Wert. It directly hit Van Wert Cinemas while a number of people were enjoying a typical matinee. While the theater building and adjacent drive-in were destroyed, none of the moviegoers were seriously injured or killed by the tornado. 

The powerful twister moved on and damaged nearly 200 homes, including nearly 50 that were destroyed. It also heavily damaged 17 businesses, including seven that were completely destroyed. Most of those were in the Vision Industrial Park area and debris from the storms was found as far away as Defiance County. Purses from KAM Manufacturing were found several counties away. 

Damages were placed in the range of $50 million and the two people who lost their lives were Nick Mollenkopf and Alfred Germann. 

Now-retired Van Wert independent editor Dave Mosier wrote a special and comprehensive retrospective piece on the 10-year anniversary of the deadly tornado. It includes a number of photographs and can be read by clicking here.