Van Wert-Roselms Tornado Map
On November 10, 2002, a violent and deadly tornado struck the city of Van Wert and the community of Roselms, Ohio, United States. The National Weather Service rated the worst of the damage F4 on the Fujita scale, near and within the Van Wert area. In Van Wert, hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, with several homes and businesses sustaining F4 damage. Among these businesses, a movie theater, was leveled by the tornado, but the sixty people attending the feature inside the theater survived. In Roselms, only one single structure was left standing. The tornado killed four people, injured seventeen others, and was credited for over $30 million in damages.
The path of the Van Wert-Roselms tornado
On the afternoon of Sunday, November 10, 2002, a tornado touched down just south of Wren. Over the next 52.8 miles it traveled northeast, passing through Van Wert, Hoaglin and Hamler, before lifting just southeast of Malinta.
At its widest the damage path was 880 yards (0.5 miles) across. It was rated F4 on the Fujita Scale, a violent tornado. It killed 4 people and injured 17.
The track, widths and figures on this map come from the Storm Prediction Center's survey record, so they can differ slightly from totals published elsewhere.
What was the Van Wert-Roselms tornado?
The Van Wert-Roselms tornado was a violent and deadly storm that struck Ohio on November 10, 2002. The National Weather Service assigned the event an F4 rating on the Fujita scale due to the severity of the damage. This storm impacted the city of Van Wert and the community of Roselms, causing widespread destruction across the region. It remained the most notable event of a large tornado outbreak that occurred over the Veterans Day weekend.
What was the Van Wert-Roselms tornado wind speed?
The provided data does not explicitly state a specific maximum wind speed in miles per hour for the Van Wert-Roselms tornado. The National Weather Service assigned the storm an F4 rating based on observed damage patterns rather than direct wind speed measurements. Damage to homes and businesses, including the leveling of the Twin Cinemas building, supported this high intensity classification. Meteorological observations noted extreme wind shear and atmospheric instability across the region leading up to the event.
What was the Van Wert-Roselms tornado path?
The tornado touched down approximately four miles northeast of Willshire, Ohio. It tracked northeast through Van Wert and Paulding County before entering Putnam, Defiance, and Henry counties. The storm covered a total path length of 53 miles throughout Ohio. It eventually weakened to F0 intensity and performed skipping motions across the landscape. The vortex finally lifted from the ground approximately two miles southeast of Malinta.
How many people died in the Van Wert-Roselms tornado?
The tornado killed four people during its path through Ohio. Seventeen additional people sustained injuries from the storm. One fatality occurred near Zook Road when a house collapsed, while two people died in a mobile home in Continental. An eighteen-year-old man also died when the storm threw his vehicle into a cinema. These casualties highlight the violent nature of the F4 intensity winds.
What did the Van Wert-Roselms tornado destroy?
The tornado destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in Van Wert and Roselms. Specifically, it leveled the Twin Cinemas and three county engineering buildings. In Roselms, the storm left only one structure standing after impacting the community. Paulding County saw 23 homes, 32 barns, and a church leveled by the intense winds. The damage extended to various outbuildings and trees as the tornado moved northeast across multiple counties.
What caused the Van Wert-Roselms tornado?
A powerful upper-level trough and surface low pressure system drove the severe weather event. Air temperatures rose into the lower 70s with dewpoints reaching the mid-60s, creating CAPE values of 1,000 to 2,000 J/kg. Significant pressure falls contributed to backed surface winds, which enhanced low-level shear profiles. These conditions allowed a squall line to break down into discrete supercells. Prefrontal troughs triggered the final development of these storms across the Ohio region.
What happened after the Van Wert-Roselms tornado?
The community implemented significant safety upgrades following the disaster. The Van Wert County EMA distributed NOAA Weather Radios to every local business to improve future warning reception. Manager Scott Shaffer received recognition for leading sixty cinema patrons to safety before the building collapsed. Emergency managers also cited the 26-minute lead time provided by the continuous operation of tornado sirens as a key factor in preventing higher casualty counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Citations
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