WINDHAM TOWNSHIP, Ohio — With 62 confirmed tornadoes across the state, 2024 is poised to become the new record holder for Ohio tornadoes in a single year.
This year’s influx of tornadoes matches the previous record of 62, which was set in 1992. The year 2023 did come close, with 60 tornadoes in Ohio.
Among those was an EF-1 tornado that barreled through Portage County in April.
It was a first for 86-year-old Tom Silver to experience winds up to 110 mph at his home in Windham Township, which tore off porches, toppled trees and threw debris all over the place.
"Ohio hasn’t been a big place for tornadoes," Silver said.
Now, more than two months later, Silver still spends much of his days removing rubble wherever he can find it.
"The tornado was only here for 3-4 seconds," Silver said. "It’s a mess. It will probably take months just to clean up the debris."
That tornado caused damage to isolated homes and caused roadways to be closed.
RELATED: Homes damaged, roadways closed after tornado touches down in Portage County Wednesday
Elsewhere on Silver's property, Willie Sears works on what will be a mobile home for Tom and his wife, replacing the old one that is still spread across the yard, while they repair Silver's home.
"We’re going to anchor it all down; this won't go anywhere this time," he said. "I don’t know if it will be ever back to normal, now that the normal is gone."
For Portage County Emergency Management Director Ryan Shackleford, April's tornado reaffirms that people need to be prepared for whatever can come their way.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the county’s emergency management agency is building a new facility equipped with everything they need, including a storm shelter meant to withstand an EF-5 tornado and winds of up to 250 miles per hour.
"It’s astounding," he said. "We don’t want to be on that side of the record books. It just means we need to be more prepared as some of our weather climate is changing."
Shackleford says he's never seen an EF-5 tornado in Portage County. However, he hadn't seen an EF-1 in the county like what rolled through in April either.
"In my tenure, we’ve had lots of tornadoes, probably 10+ but they’re usually EF-0s," he explained. "That was our first big one that had damage to residential structures."
Northeast Ohio's history with tornadoes
Make no mistake, Ohio does get powerful storms in the state.
Over the years, that’s meant everything, like the July 4, 1969 derecho in which 18 people were killed.
In addition, Ohio has seen deadly and damaging tornadoes in 1985, 1992, and 2002.
RELATED: Do you remember this? Taking a look back at the May 1985 tornado outbreak
For News 5 Chief Meteorologist Mark Johnson, Ohioans need to rethink and prioritize planning the “what ifs” into “when it.”
"The last couple years, they’ve been pretty aggressive," he said. "It’s a serious situation we’re in, and the last couple years proves Ohio can have its share of tornadoes, even damaging tornadoes."
Does this impact homeowner's insurance in Ohio?
A New York Times report highlights that for the past two years, for the first time, major insurers are overall losing money on home insurance in Ohio. The Buckeye State was just one of 18 states in 2023 where insurers were not profitable.
The latest available data from the state shows Ohioans saw their homeowner's insurance increase by 3.8% percent in 2022, which is the largest increase since 2018.
But when News 5 wanted to learn why homeowners are seeing a rise in their insurance, a spokesperson with the Ohio Insurance Institute says while weather plays a role, it’s not the biggest factor.
Here's what they said is impacting homeowner's insurance rates right now:
1. Inflation
2. Litigation
3. Weather
CORRECTION: The original version of this story misstated that Willie Sears was planning to move into the new mobile home, not Silver.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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