Van Wert, OH F4 Tornado – November 10, 2002

Van Wert:

This tornado touched down in the southwest corner of Van Wert County about 4 miles northeast of Willshire and moved northeast across the western portion of the city of Van Wert, and then crossed U.S. 30 and continued northeast before exiting the county about 7 miles east of Scott.

NWS ground and aerial surveys showed the tornado quickly intensified to F4 about 5 miles southwest of the city of Van Wert near Zook road, where a 75 year old male was killed in his home.  The tornado continued moving northeast as an F4 into the city of Van Wert, were it hit the Twin Cinemas and the Vision Industrial Park.  At this point the tornado was about one half mile wide.  60 persons watching a movie in the cinemas, mostly children, took shelter before the tornado hit, with only minor injuries.  Vehicles from the parking lot were thrown into the seats where the children had been sitting.  An 18 year old male driving past the cinemas was thrown from his vehicle and killed.  The tornado then destroyed five industries in the Vision Industrial Park, before moving north of U.S. 30, producing F4 damage to additional businesses and homes.  The tornado weakened to F3 as it moved northeast and crossed into Paulding county.

164 homes were damaged in Van Wert county, and 43 were totally destroyed. 27 businesses sustained damage, with 5 totally destroyed in Vision Park.  Three county engineer buildings were destroyed, with one house used by a township. Total damage in Van Wert county was near 30 million dollars.

Paulding:

This tornado originated in Van Wert county and crossed into Paulding county 3 miles southwest of Roselms and exited Paulding county about 2.5 miles southeast of Oakwood.  NWS ground and aerial survey found F3 damage along the entire path in Paulding county, with only one structure remaining standing in the town of Roselms, in which the town residents had taken cover in the basement.

Putnam:

This tornado originated in Van Wert county and moved across Paulding county into Putnam county about 4 miles west southwest of Continental. NWS ground and aerial survey found F3 damage as the tornado entered Putnam county, striking a mobile home and killing a husband and wife. The tornado moved northeast across the northwest corner of Putnam county, quickly weakening to an F0 as it exited the county 4.5 miles north of Continental.

Defiance:

This tornado originated in Van Wert county and moved across Paulding and Putnam counties before entering the extreme southwest corner of Defiance county about 5 miles southeast of Ayersville. NWS ground and aerial survey found the tornado was skipping, and produced F0 damage to five homes, some trees and a few barns and outbuildings. The tornado then exited Defiance county about 4 miles southeast of Ayersville.

Henry:

This tornado originated in Van Wert county and moved across Paulding, Putnam and Defiance counties before entering southwest Henry county about 6 miles southeast of Holgate. NWS ground and aerial survey found the tornado was skipping and producing F0 damage to trees and outbuildings as it moved northwest of Holgate. The tornado continued to move northeast before dissipating about 2 miles southeast of Malinta.