One Of Those Random Lists Gave Ohio A Bad Ranking

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Tuesday Had the Damage. Saturday Had the Warning.

After this week, there is a fair question hanging over Columbus:

How did one of the most damaging storms in decades move through the city without a tornado warning, while a less destructive storm days later triggered one?

Tuesday morning was brutal.

Trees came down across Central Ohio. Cars were flipped. Power lines were ripped apart. Tens of thousands of people lost electricity. Upper Arlington was hit especially hard, with the National Weather Service estimating straight-line winds of 90 to 100 mph.

Then came another piece of information: there actually was a tornado.

The National Weather Service later confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down in south Columbus, with estimated winds around 100 mph and a damage path stretching nearly two miles.

But there was no tornado warning for it.

That does not mean forecasters ignored the storm. A Destructive Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued, including warnings for winds around 80 mph. Those alerts are serious and are designed to reach phones because winds at that level can cause major damage and injuries.

Still, when residents look around at entire blocks covered in fallen trees, damaged homes, crushed cars and neighborhoods that spent days without power, it is understandable to ask whether the warning matched the threat.

Then Saturday happened.

Radar showed rotation near Canal Winchester, a tornado warning was issued, sirens sounded and phones went off across parts of Franklin County. People were told, very clearly, to take shelter.

That storm did not produce anything close to Tuesday's widespread damage.

The difference comes down to how warnings work. Tornado warnings are based largely on radar-detected rotation or reliable reports of a tornado, not simply on how strong the wind is. Tuesday's tornado was small, fast-moving and apparently difficult to identify quickly enough on radar. Saturday's storm showed the kind of rotation meteorologists are trained to react to.

That explains what happened.

It does not necessarily make the outcome feel any better.

Tuesday exposed an uncomfortable gap between the way people understand weather warnings and the way storms actually behave. Most of us hear "severe thunderstorm" and think heavy rain, lightning and maybe a branch in the yard. We hear "tornado warning" and immediately head downstairs.

But Tuesday showed that straight-line winds approaching 100 mph can tear through a city with nearly the same destructive force.

There probably is not one person or agency to blame for everything that happened. Forecasting a rapidly developing storm is difficult, and warnings are issued with imperfect information in real time.

But after the amount of damage Columbus just experienced, it is fair to expect a serious review of what happened, how residents were warned and whether people fully understood just how dangerous Tuesday's storm had become.

The goal should not be finding someone to punish.

It should be making sure the next storm this powerful does not catch Columbus quite as off guard.

Scarlet Letter Trivia

What is the highest ever recorded wind speed in Ohio?

A. 139 mph

B. 237 mph

C. 317 mph

D. 293 mph

ALUM CREEK IS WAY BIGGER THAN YOU THINK

Alum Creek Marina Summer Series

About 25 minutes north of Columbus, Alum Creek Marina is turning its docks into one of the better live-music spots around Central Ohio.

The marina sits on the west side of Alum Creek and has about 240 slips, fuel, boat supplies and rentals, including pontoons, kayaks, canoes and paddleboards. Some of the pontoons can carry groups of up to 14 people, making this less “quiet afternoon on the lake” and more “someone definitely brought a speaker.”

The marina also got a major upgrade in 2022, adding new retail and rental space, food service, public restrooms and showers, plus outdoor gathering areas right on the water.

This summer, those gathering areas are hosting the free Alum Creek Marina Summer Series, with shows running from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

• Aug. 13: Drew Allan

• Aug. 14: The Usual Suspects

• Sept. 17: Tim Owings

So if you needed an excuse to head north, rent a boat, grab some food and catch live music on the water, Alum Creek has you covered.

Ohio Is the 42nd-Best State in America, Apparently

Ohio was just named the No. 1 state for business by CNBC.

So naturally, another national ranking has now placed us at No. 42 overall.

Welcome to the annual American tradition of publishing state rankings until every state has been declared both incredible and terrible at least once.

This one comes from U.S. News & World Report, which ranked all 50 states using 71 metrics across eight categories: health care, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and natural environment.

And Ohio did not exactly crush it.

The state landed 42nd overall, putting us firmly in the bottom 10 nationally.

Which is a little jarring considering the headlines Ohio has been collecting lately.

We have major investments from Intel, Honda and Anduril. Central Ohio is exploding with data centers. Columbus keeps growing. CNBC looked at the business climate and recently crowned Ohio the best state in America for business.

U.S. News apparently looked at everything else and said, "Let's not get carried away."

That is the important distinction.

Ohio can be extremely attractive to companies while still struggling in the broader categories that shape everyday life. U.S. News is measuring things like educational outcomes, health care access, infrastructure, household opportunity and public safety alongside economic performance.

In other words, landing the factory is one thing.

Making sure the people living around it are healthy, educated, mobile and financially secure is another.

Meanwhile, Utah Is Apparently Perfect

At the other end of the list sits Utah, ranked No. 1 in America for the fourth straight year.

Utah did not actually finish first in any of the eight major categories.

Instead, it was just annoyingly good at nearly everything.

Utah ranked No. 2 in economy, No. 2 in fiscal stability, No. 4 in infrastructure and No. 6 in education, giving it enough strength across the board to take the overall crown.

Apparently the secret to becoming America's best state is having a booming economy, strong schools, solid roads and enough functioning government finances to avoid appearing in investigative news stories.

Wild concept.

Utah even ranked near the bottom in natural environment and still won, which feels especially unfair considering they have actual mountains.

Ohio has cornfields, Cedar Point and several very committed highway interchanges. We are doing our best.

So Is Ohio Great or Terrible?

Probably neither.

And that may be the real lesson from the endless supply of "Best States" lists.

CNBC heavily evaluates states from the perspective of businesses. U.S. News looks much more broadly at quality of life and government performance. Change the categories, change the weighting, change the winner.

Give us another week and someone will probably publish America's Best States for Gas Station Snacks, where Ohio will immediately return to the top five.

Still, finishing 42nd should not simply be shrugged off.

Ohio has clearly become better at attracting investment and major employers. The bigger question is whether that economic momentum is improving life across the entire state.

Because collecting billion-dollar projects looks great in a press release.

Eventually, the rankings that matter most are the ones people can actually feel.

Trivia Answer C. 317 mph in a hurricane that touched down in Xenia, Ohio, in 1974.