Possible tornado flips car near Columbus as severe storms rip through Midwest
A possible tornado flipped a car near Columbus as severe storms unleashed damaging winds, flash flooding and widespread power outages across the Midwest.
Strong winds flipped a moving vehicle on a highway in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday morning. Traffic camera footage captured the vehicle tipping onto its side as severe weather moved through the area.
A potent line of severe thunderstorms tore through the Columbus, Ohio, area Tuesday, spawning a possible tornado along Interstate 71, flipping a car and leaving a trail of damage.
Ohio Department of Transportation cameras along I-71 near Weber Road captured the tornado-warned storm sweeping through the area. Visibility dropped to near zero before a car could be seen flipping as the storm passed.
A car flips on I-71 near Weber Road in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, during a tornado-warned storm (Image: Ohio DOT)
The severe weather that roared through Ohio on Tuesday morning was one of multiple lines of intense thunderstorms that swept through the Midwest and Ohio Valley throughout the day.
Around 10:45 a.m. CT, tornado sirens sounded across Chicago as a separate line of powerful storms moved through the city. AccuWeather had placed the corridor from Chicago to north-central Indiana at a high risk for severe weather on Tuesday, with damaging winds the primary threat and a few brief tornadoes possible. Straight-line winds were also concerning, with a home weather station in Kane, Illinois, recording a 97-mph gust and another report in Gary, Indiana of a 99-mph gust.
Top wind reports from Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026.
More than 800,000 customers were without power Tuesday afternoon from Indiana to Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us. Dozens of reports of snapped trees and downed power poles stretched from Iowa to Ohio.
Torrential rain accompanied the severe weather, leaving vehicles and buildings surrounded by floodwater in parts of Ohio. The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Emergency for Perry County.
Storm clouds move in over Paycor Stadium and practice fields during the Cincinnati Bengals' NFL football practice in Cincinnati, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The severe weather threat will not end with Tuesday’s storms. AccuWeather meteorologists expect severe thunderstorms to shift farther south Wednesday, extending from central Illinois to the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. Damaging winds will remain the primary concern, with an AccuWeather StormMax™ wind gust of 80 mph.
Repeated rounds of torrential rain could pose an even greater danger in parts of the Ohio Valley and Appalachians through Thursday night.
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