Tornadoes always possible in late fall

Photo of damaged cinema from 2002 tornado in Van Wert, Ohio
Van Wert cinema destroyed by November 10, 2002 tornado. (From NWS website).

While spring is the main season for tornadoes, don’t rule them out in late fall. You can bet the people of Van Wert, Ohio won’t. An F4 tornado hit that city on November 10, 2002. The same day, an F3 tornado touched down near Berne, Indiana, an F1 hit Hartford city and an F0 touched down near the southeastern Wells County village of Petroleum. Read more about the November 10, 2002 outbreak.

So, are we in for another day like November 10, 2002, today? Probably not, according to meteorologists at the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service. The amount of atmospheric instability forecast for today is significantly less and more conditional than it was for the 2002 outbreak. In addition, several other meteorological metrics are below the levels seen in 2002.