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ROCKFORD - Mercer County experienced its third tornado of the year on Saturday evening, though this one was weak and on the ground for a mere two minutes.
The National Weather Service in Wilmington confirmed a tornado southwest of Rockford. The weak "landspout" tornado was observed moving north in a field east of Burrville Road.
From 7:38 to 7:40 p.m., the tornado cut a 0.6 mile-path with a maximum width of 30 yards, NWS reported.
"There was no damage with this tornado," Mercer County Emergency Management Agency Director Chad Willrath said in an email.
A trained weather spotter saw the tornado and reported it, Willrath said. Additionally, a local resident sent a video of the tornado to NWS.
"This was not seen by currently available radar and there were no watches or warnings with this thunderstorm," Willrath said.
Since the tornado caused no known damage, it was rated EF-unknown, "as an official EF-scale designation cannot by assigned," NWS' report states.
Mercer County experienced a pair of EF1 tornadoes packing winds up to 110 mph on March 14, one of which continued its trail of destruction well into Auglaize County, according to NWS.
The first tornado initially touched down near New Corydon, Indiana, at 6:40 p.m. March 14. It moved east toward the state line and entered Mercer County along Skeels Road. A few properties south of the intersection of Skeels Road and State Route 49 suffered damage, per the NWS.
It also caused damage to several homes along Mud Pike Road before dissipating at about 6:55 p.m.
The NWS said the tornado was on the ground 15 minutes, moving along a 8.6 mile-path with a maximum width of 450 yards.
A second EF1 tornado began in Celina a few blocks east of North Main Street along East Anthony Street.
It moved eastward and eventually went into Auglaize County. It caused damage to outbuildings, a few houses and businesses and numerous trees. NWS said the tornado was on the ground for 24 minutes, cutting a swath 16.1 miles long with a maximum width of 1,050 yards.
