It was around 3 PM Wednesday when the Orville Tornado hit the town of Ohio, after reports of a funnel cloud touched down and began tossing debris near McQuaid and Back Orville Road.
The hardest area hit by the Orville Tornado was the homes along McQuaid Road, even leaving one home without a roof and a tree nearby split into two. Apple Creek Fire Chief Les Durstine shares that everyone is thankful because no one was home at the time.
"You go inside and look at some of the parts, look up the stairs and can see where the top of the house has actually been twisted," he shares. The house's bedroom is now exposed and estimated damages are at $80,000.
The current homeowners refused an interview but Sam Hershberger, the previous owner relates that the sight of the wrecked home "gave him goosebumps". "An old neighbor called and said, 'You won't believe this. Your old house just got hit by a tornado,' " Hershberger says, who now lives in neighbouring Wooster. He further notes that if he was still living there, his two kids would most likely be home with their babysitter.
Just on the other side of McQuaid Road, Emma Sier's home lost a few shingles but other than that, no one was hurt. She and all three family members were home when they spotted the funnel cloud taking form. "We ran to the basement," she recalls, "We didn't hear anything, so after a while we came back up and looked around. Trash was all over, and then we saw the house across the street."
The Orivlle Tornado was just one part of a string of dangerous storms hitting north-eastern Ohio. The storms recently left 2,000 people without power in Stark County and about 1,000 residents in Massillon.
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