On Wednesday evening, residents and motorists near the James A. Rhodes Airport, which is located between Jackson and Oak Hill in Jackson County, witnessed a small tornado form and touch down.
The following morning, on Thursday, June 28, Jackson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Robert Czechlewski reported that they attended a damage assessment survey with representatives from the National Weather Service (NWS) from Charleston, W.V.
Czechlewski said that the preliminary report showed that on Wednesday, June 27, at approximately 8:50 p.m. an EF-0 tornado touched down across the northern portion of the Jackson County Airport in Jackson County.
The NWS released a public information statement on Thursday, June 28, regarding the tornado. The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the event and publication in NWS storm data.
According to that statement, the EF-0 tornado traveled approximately 1/2 mile across the airport and into a field. The tornado’s estimated wind speed was 85 mph and the path width was 30 yards.
The EF (Enhanced Fujita) scale classified tornadoes into the following categories:
• EF-0… Weak… 65 to 85 mph
• EF-1… Weak… 86 to 110 mph
• EF-2… strong… 111 to 135 mph
• EF-3… strong… 136 to 165 mph
• EF-4… violent… 166 to 200 mph
• EF-5… violent… >200 mph
The statement report showed that the tornado bent a 60 foot length of metal roofing along the top of an overhead door of an aircraft hanger on the opposite side of the hanger. An overhead door was pushed outward. A single engine aircraft was pushed 30 feet and flipped onto an automobile. Another single engine aircraft suffered a landing gear collapse and pushed about 60 feet onto the lawn near the tarmac. Across the street, several large tree trunks and limbs were snapped.
Several videos of the event were captured on social media. No one was injured or killed during the event.
by Jeremiah Shaver (2018, June 28/Updated 2018, June 29) Times-Journal
