Wright-Patt AFB near Dayton, OH was hit by a suspected tornado early this morning. A severe weather outbreak battered the region overnight, signaling an early start to the spring severe weather season.
Wright-Patterson is home to the National Museum of the USAF, and home of the 88th Air Base Wing.
According to the 88th Air Base Wing, the National Museum of the USAF’s Restoration Hangar 4, Gate 22B (I-675 Gate) and several other buildings on the base’s ‘Area B’ was hit and took damage.
The 88th Civil Engineer Group, first responders and base safety personnel are assessing damage throughout the base. In photos released by the base, hangars appear half-destroyed on the outside, with plane engines and debris scattered around the grounds. Trees were uprooted and windows shattered. All tell-take signs of a tornado.
“Our initial assessment from this morning’s storm is the damage is isolated to the southern side of Area B,” said Col. Travis Pond, 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander.
“Our initial focus right now is on safety and damage assessment. I can’t speak highly enough about our security forces, Fire Department and civil engineer Airmen for their quick response and hard work to assess damage and determine a path forward for restoring operations as quickly as possible.”
Several tornadoes were reported across SW Ohio between 4:00-5:00am local time. A tornado warning to take cover was issued for the base at 4:43am.
The National Weather Service has since confirmed some of them. They are currently reviewing data to confirm more.
Aircraft inside the museum’s restoration hangar were mostly undamaged, and everything outside the hangar was scheduled for disposal. Nobody was hurt.
Additional damage and cleanup photos can be viewed here.
