SHELBY, Ohio -- The National Weather Service says a tornado in Ohio that damaged several homes and businesses and injured at least six people was an EF2 twister with estimated maximum winds of up to 125 mph.
The tornado that hit Shelby on Sunday night peaked with EF-2 winds but most of the time it had the strength of an EF-1 tornado.
It started around three miles southwest of Shelby and as it approached Gamble St. and OH-314 it destroyed an outbuilding, or a weaker structure, this damage is consistent with EF-1 strength winds between 86-110 mph.
There was also a lot of siding or metal roofing found along the roads and thrown into trees which is again consistent with EF-1 damage.
The worst of the damage was at and near Rocket Chevrolet. The dealership was hit with considerable damage and just behind it, a car could be found in a field.
Witnesses say it got placed there by the tornado. This type of damage is more in line with what we see in an EF-2 tornado. That's a tornado with winds of 111-135 mph.
With maximum winds estimated at 120-125 mph that would make this tornado a mid-level to a strong EF-2 twister.
The tornado had a 17-mile path, was on the ground for around 18 minutes and was about 1/2 mile wide at its widest.
Summary of Richland County tornado provided by NWS:
A long track tornado began about 3 miles southwest of Shelby around 4:42 p.m. then tracked northeast to about 5 miles north of Olivesburg. EF1 damage was seen along much of its 17 mile track. The most significant damage was located on the southeast and east side of Shelby from near the Chevy dealership along State Route 39 northeastward to State Route 96 where a home was significantly damaged. This is where the EF2 damage was observed and the tornado reached its maximum width of 1/2 mile.