Tornado warnings were then issued for Clark and Greene counties as the storm moved across the area, with spotters saying they saw funnel clouds near Carlisle, Germantown, New Carlisle, Cedarville and Jamestown.
The agency confirmed Tuesday a tornado touched down near Middletown in Butler County and near New Carlisle in Clark County.
@NWSILN from Amateur Radio spotter in Germantown, Ohio pic.twitter.com/wimAHQrnbg
— Dayton Skywarn (@DaytonSkywarn) February 27, 2023
The NWS is gathering damage reports to confirm the number and severity of tornadoes from the storm.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in the nine counties surrounding Dayton, there have only been 13 tornadoes in the months of December, January and February since 1950, only seven of which happened during February.
For comparison, in the summer months of June, July and August, the greater Dayton area has seen 122 tornadoes since 1950.
Of those 12 winter tornadoes, seven have happened in the past 15 years, but the earliest in NOAA’s database were more than 60 years old.
The oldest winter tornadoes in the area were a pair of damaging tornadoes early Feb. 25, 1956, the first of which touched down near Fairfield at about 5:45 a.m., and the second of which started near Cedarville at 6:30 a.m.
Each were classified as “F2,” or significant tornadoes, meaning they had wind speeds of 113-157 mph and caused considerable damage, tearing roofs off houses and uprooting large trees, according to the NWS.
Three more tornadoes in 1971, 1973 and 1976 in Butler and Clark counties being classified as “F1,” or moderate tornadoes, with wind speeds of 73-112 mph that can push vehicles off roads and peel the surface off roofs.
The tornadoes that touched down in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2020, were all F0, or gale tornadoes, with winds of 40 to 72 mph that can damage chimneys, break branches and push over shallow-rooted trees. The NWS has not completed its assessment of the tornadoes confirmed on Monday as of late Tuesday morning.
Here’s when those December, January and February tornadoes have happened:
Feb. 25, 1956: Butler County
Feb. 25, 1956: Greene County
Feb. 26, 1971: Clark County
Dec. 26, 1973: Butler County
Jan. 13, 1976: Clark County
Jan. 29, 2008: Lewisburg
Feb. 20, 2014: Phillipsburg
Dec. 23, 2015: Darke County
Feb. 7, 2019: Clark
Jan. 11, 2020: Troy
Jan. 11, 2020: Miami County
Feb. 27, 2023: Butler County
Feb. 27, 2023: Clark County
About the Author
