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Tipp City tornado: Shocking video shows twister RIPPING apart Meijer warehouse roof in Ohio

Tornado warnings have been issued by The National Weather Service for parts of Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, and Ohio after a tornado touched down in Tipp City

A tornado heavily damaged Meijer Distribution Center in southwest Ohio and crossed over Interstate 75 Wednesday, June 8 evening. Another damage was reported in Darke and Clark counties, as the storm system rolled across western Ohio between 5 and 7 pm. An emergency dispatcher in Miami County, where the tornado started, said hundreds of 911 calls came in but details on the full scope of the situation weren't immediately available.

At the Meijer facility off South County Road 25A in Tipp City, the roof and back wall on the northwest corner of the building collapsed. “I did see a funnel cloud in the area,” said Tipp City police Sgt. Corey Rismiller. “I did see debris coming off Meijer’s roof.” The damaged locations appeared to be “pretty much industrial facilities” with Meijer taking the biggest hit, said Joel Smith, Miami County Emergency Management Agency director. Fifty or more people were working in the Meijer Distribution building at the time the storm hit, but there were no reported injuries. “Meijer heeded tornado warnings and got people to their emergency location,” Smith said. “They were in their safe place so nobody was hurt.”

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The tornado hit the Distribution Center before moving east across I-75 and into the Industry Park area. Structural and roof damage initially was reported to buildings at RepaCorp, Hi-Tech Industrial Services, and S&K Tool, Smith said. Crews worked to cover the front of SK Mold & Tool with a large tarp after nearly the entire frontage of the building was pulled away in the storm. Several videos of the tornado surfaced on Twitter showing severe damage in Tipp City. Watch the videos below:

The twister touched down near West Milton, about 16 miles northwest of Dayton, and traveled eastward to Tipp City. "Severe weather hit multiple parts of Tipp City this evening resulting in varying levels of damage," the Tipp City government tweeted at about 7:30 pm EDT. "Emergency crews have been dispatched to assess and aid the situation. We ask that everyone stay off the roads of affected areas."

Tim Eggleston, city manager in Tipp City, drove to the community later Wednesday, June 8 evening, checking on the damage. Police from Piqua and Troy responded to help with traffic control and Vandalia fire crews came to help at the Meijer property, Eggleston said. Eggleston said there was some residential roof damage and trees downed, but there were no reports of catastrophic damage to residential structures as of 8:30 p.m. “It could have far worse,” Eggleston said of the damage. “We are thankful it wasn’t worse.”

“I just thought it was a big storm … heavy rains and stuff,” said Meijer employee Cheryln Spealman of Dayton. During the storm, she said the lights went on and off a few times in the huge facility. “After that we heard a big boom and then a bunch of debris started blowing around,” Spealman said. And, the moment workers went outside the building had collapsed.

About 36,000 homes and businesses were without electricity across southern Ohio as of about 8.30 pm, according to poweroutage.us. According to the National Weather Service on Twitter, there had been a tornado watch issued for areas of Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia until 1 am, June 9. 

Dark clouds could also be seen in Kentucky, where a tornado warning had already been issued. As per National Weather Service Tornado, another tornado has developed in Southern Maryland, in central St. Mary's County and a warning has been issued until 9.15 pm EDT.