The Tornado Warning Came Two Minutes Before the Tornado Touched Down

At 7:27 PM on March 14, 2024, the National Weather Service in Wilmington named Lakeview and Russells Point, Ohio in a tornado warning. The storm had already made a weaker tornado near Celina. By the Weather Service's survey, the tornado that crossed Indian Lake touched down at 7:29, three miles north of Botkins, and stayed on the ground 47 minutes, about 32 miles, ending near West Mansfield at 8:16. By our reading of the Weather Service track it reached Lakeview around 7:47 to 7:49, about 21 minutes after the warning (our estimate; the Weather Service has not published an arrival minute). That morning's Storm Prediction Center outlook gave the area a 2 percent chance of a tornado within 25 miles. Sirens sounded, stopped and sounded again; residents told the AP they heard them 10 minutes before it hit. At 7:51 the Weather Service issued a "particularly dangerous situation" warning. The EF3 (winds up to 155 mph, half a mile wide at Lakeview) crossed Indian Lake, completely destroyed mobile homes on Orchard Island and crossed the lake again. Three people died and 27 were hurt; county officials count 233 properties destroyed and 254 with major damage. No Ohio tornado had killed more people since June 2010. Lakeview's village siren was damaged by the storm and was still not working on April 2, 2024. On March 11, 2026 a siren sounded again under a new warning, and the mayor said it "brings back some ugly memories."

Were you at Indian Lake that night? Tell us where you were when the sirens went off.

Sources: National Weather Service Wilmington tornado warnings (7:27 and 7:51 PM), March 14, 2024; NWS damage survey, March 19, 2024; NOAA Storm Events; Storm Prediction Center outlooks and tornado records; Springfield News-Sun, March 15, 2024; Associated Press, March 15, 2024; Peak of Ohio, April 2, 2024 and March 14, 2026; WKEF Dayton 24/7 Now, March 11, 2026. Pictures: NOAA/NWS radar via Iowa Environmental Mesonet; NWS Wilmington aerials and survey photos (public domain); Nyttend, 2007 (public domain); video by Damon Sharp and 10leej (CC BY, YouTube).