TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo's city leaders offered an explanation Friday as to why the state's outdoor warning sirens sounded several minutes after an EF-2 tornado touched down in Point Place Thursday evening.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz described his conversations with others about the sudden nature of the storm prior to the sirens.
"They all, to a person, say none of that happened," Kapszukiewicz said. "It was just a beautiful day, a tornado came, and it was a beautiful day again, so it was very bizarre."
Lucas County Emergency Management Agency Director Abby Buchhop said the organization relies on guidance from the National Weather Service on whether to issue sirens.
They said the NWS looks for certain conditions before issuing a tornado warning, and Thursday night's weather developed faster than the NWS could issue that warning.
"Storms and weather events are very difficult to predict," Buchhop said. "We are absolutely not meteorologists, nor do we have any forecast experience. We rely on the expertise of the National Weather Service."
Kapszukiewicz said it's still early in the city's assessment of the damage and he isn't sure how much the total cost will be. But, he emphasized the fact that no one was injured or killed.
"While there's no mistaking the weeks of work that is ahead of the citizens of Point Place in cleaning up after what happened, ultimately, buildings can be replaced, roofs can be replaced, human lives can not be replaced," Kapszukiewicz said.
The mayor said there will be another press conference Tuesday to further update the city.