DARKE COUNTY — The strong winds that swept through portions of Darke County early Wednesday night brought with them a lot of property damage caused by fallen trees and wires. A small tornado was confirmed in the Arcanum area, touching down long enough to lift the roof from a building.
Darke County Sheriff Chief Deputy Mark Whittaker said downed wires and trees across roadways made up most of the reports that came into the department after a strong line of thunderstorms rapidly approached from Indiana.
The scanner said the winds were 50 miles per hour when heading toward Darke County from Fountain City, Indiana, at the onset of the storm in this region.
“A couple of tornado sirens were set off in villages mostly in the southern part of the county,” he said. “There was significant damage to a portion of the roof of Arcon Construction at Alternate 49 and State Route 49. That roof blew off onto Alternate 49. There was also a barn damaged on Hollansburg-Sampson Road not far from the Miami County Line.”
“Several fire departments went out,” he said.
According to the scanner, power lines were down on State Route 47 in the Ansonia area.
“There were power outages for a minimal period of time,” the chief deputy said.
Dayton Power and Light has been contacted by The Daily Advocate but as of press time there was no response.
“I’m not aware of any accidents or anyone being injured,” Whittaker said. “What’s important is that folks got the warning they needed and we didn’t have any injuries. Nobody got hurt.”
According to one source, part of a roof was ripped off a house in Eldorado in Preble County on Wednesday evening, Dec. 23, 2015, when strong storms moved through the area. (John Bedell/Staff)
The National Weather Service later reported that an EF0 tornado was confirmed two miles east of Arcanum, with maximum winds estimated at 77 miles per hour at 5:12 p.m. Wednesday. The tornado had a maximum path width of 20 yards and touched down for a length of 50 yards. A damage survey conducted by the NWS confirmed the tornado lifted the roof of a metal building onto a nearby car and scattered debris along the property. With some of the debris showing evidence of rotation, an EF0 tornado was confirmed.
Tornados are rated EF0 – EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with 5 being the most severe.
In Miami County, sheriff’s Deputy Warren Edmondson said a funnel cloud was spotted in the air but didn’t appear to touch down. The storm did blow down trees, including one across Eldean Road west of Troy. Two cars drove over the trunk, including one that went airborne, after the drivers didn’t see it, Edmondson said. There were no injuries, but one vehicle broke an axle, and the second had a flat tire, the deputy said.
Also in Miami County, lumber was strewn all over after a barn was ripped apart by strong winds just west of Pleasant Hill.
There were several reports of trees that fell on houses, including one in Dayton that toppled, causing extensive damage to the front porch and roof of a Rubicon Street house.
In Champaign County, a tree fell onto a car in the 4500 block of Church Road in Concord Township, sending the driver to a local hospital.
In Preble County, two large trees reportedly fell down, including one that fell onto a house in Camden. A portion of a barn was also blown down near the intersection of Maple and Victoria in New Madison.
A tree also reportedly came down in Bellefontaine near the intersection of Township Road 30 and County Road 18.
Weather woes continued through the holiday weekend, with heavy rains soaking the area and residents ironically facing the same weather problem they experienced in mid-summer – flooding.
