Tornado outbreak of April 23, 2020

On April 23, 2018 a large outbreak of tornadoes impacted Ohio, extreme east Indiana, and far north Kentucky. It is the largest outbreak in Ohio history, and will not soon be forgotten. The event was well forecast, as models picked up on the event 5 days in advance. On the morning of the 23rd, the SPC had a high risk up for much of Ohio, extreme east Indiana, and north Kentucky. A rare 45% significant tornado risk was centered over central Ohio. A large outbreak of significant tornadoes was anticipated. Very strong shear, 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 before 1:00 PM that day, and initially spawned a few weak and short lived tornadoes. However, 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, 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 3:00 PM, supercells began to develop ahead of the cold front in central Ohio. Dominant supercells were moving into an incredibly conducive emvironment at that point. These storms produced several strong to violent tornadoes in central Ohio. An EF4 did significant damage in Plain City, Ohio. However, during he 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. Overall, this outbreak left 92 people dead and cost $11.3 billion dollars.

Tornado Statistics
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