Potential for Severe Wx 20250515-16

Thomas Breckel
2 hours ago
3 min read

Severe Weather Threat for May 15–16, 2025: What You Need to Know

Potential for severe weather on Thursday and a potentially more severe impact for Friday. Click image to enlarge.

Residents across the Wilmington, Ohio area should prepare for two separate rounds of storms—one Thursday evening into the early overnight hours, and a second, more widespread and dangerous round Friday evening through early Saturday morning. These storms could bring severe weather threats, including tornadoes, damaging winds, large hail, and flash flooding.

Round One: Thursday Evening into Early Friday

Storms will begin developing this evening, mainly north of the I-70 corridor. While there is still some uncertainty about how far south storms may reach, a few could dip into central Ohio. The threats from these storms include:

Tornadoes (Low Risk): A few isolated tornadoes are possible, especially if the storms stay more scattered and don’t form into a solid line.
Damaging Winds (Elevated Risk): Some storms may produce strong winds capable of knocking down trees and powerlines.
Large Hail (Elevated Risk): A few storms could produce hail large enough to damage vehicles, roofs, or outdoor items.

These threats are expected mainly between 8 PM Thursday and 2 AM Friday.

Round Two: Friday Evening through Early Saturday

This round is expected to be more intense and widespread. It will likely impact areas south of I-70, including south-central Ohio and the Tri-State region (where Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana meet). Storms may start out as individual supercells and then form into a larger, more dangerous line overnight.

Tornadoes (Elevated Risk): A few tornadoes are possible Friday evening, including the risk for stronger tornadoes.
Damaging Winds (Significant Risk): Widespread damaging winds are expected, strong enough to bring down numerous trees and powerlines. Some areas could see structural damage.
Large Hail (Elevated Risk): Storms may produce hail large enough to cause damage.
Flash Flooding (Elevated Risk): Heavy rainfall falling on already saturated ground could lead to localized flooding in low-lying or poor-drainage areas.

Timing for this second round is 6 PM Friday through 2 AM Saturday.

What You Should Do

Stay Informed: Monitor Clinton County Emergency Alerts (CCEA), local weather updates, and the NWS Wilmington feed for real-time warnings.
Have a Plan: Know where your safe shelter area is—especially if you live in a mobile home or are traveling.
Prepare for Power Outages: Strong winds could knock out electricity. Charge your devices and have flashlights ready.
Avoid Flooded Roads: If water covers the road, do not try to drive through it. “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”

Both rounds of storms could bring quick changes in weather, so having multiple ways to receive alerts is key. The next NWS update is expected by 6 PM Thursday (briefing located here 👉https://www.weather.gov/media/iln/ILNBriefing.pdf).

Reference keywords SEVERE, POWER, and TORNADO at https://www.cc-ema.org/prepare.

Resources for More Information

Clinton County EMA provides several preparedness resources online to help residents prepare for severe weather. The following blog posts offer additional guidance: