The National Weather Service in Wilmington has confirmed that a small tornado touched down in Beavercreek Tuesday.
At least one person suffered minor injuries and the twister damaged a few buildings in the Greene Crossing Shopping Center. But the tornado was especially surprising because there were no sirens before it struck.
Beavercreek resident Rick Beal says he was driving home from the shopping center when it hit. There had been strong winds, but the actual tornado touched down really briefly.
“It just hit and bounced and it took off so fast there wasn’t time to alert the tornado sirens, but then soon after I heard firetruck sirens,” Beal said.
But local resident Anita Plants was still upset by the lack of warning
“Well I think they need to be a little quicker on the tornado sirens, cause when the one hit out in Centerville, no sirens went off on that one either and that one did a lot of damage too,” she said.
Smyron Tadgett, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, says small tornadoes are common around here, but can be hard to catch on the radar. He recommends taking cover during severe storms, rather than waiting for a siren to go off.
