Weather service confirms EF-2 tornado hit Bartholomew County

Note: This story has been updated

The National Weather Service is confirming an EF-2 tornado hit Bartholomew County Wednesday night.

The tornado dropped to the ground near Rosstown and Interstate 65 and tracked northeast before dissipating near Hartsville. It was on the ground from 8:44 to 8:57 p.m. and travelled 13.6 miles with wind speeds of up to 112 mph, according to the weather service storm survey.

At its widest, the tornado was 350 yards across.

According to Bartholomew County Emergency Management, most of the damage in the county was consistent with a EF0 or EF1 tornado. However there were two areas that indicated the stronger EF2 damage. In both locations, well built metal farm buildings had collapsed walls and roofs. Debris at both locations thrown anywhere from a quarter to half a mile away, to the north and northeast. There were also metal high transmission towers twisted and bent.

Most county roads where the tornado crossed had several utility poles broken.

A small number of Bartholomew County customers are still without power after Wednesday’s severe weather. According to Bartholomew County REMC, there are just under 100 customers without power this morning, with the remaining outages following the path of the tornado across the county. The largest number are 41 customers without power in Columbus Township, near the intersection with State Road 46 and U.S. 31. According to estimates from the local utility, power should be restored to most of the residents later today.

Just after the storm Wednesday night, there were more than 3,000 power outages in the county.

Damage photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department drone team. Tornado track map courtesy of National Weather Service.