Ohio News Roundup: NWS Confirms EF1 Tornado in South Columbus, Nvidia Scales Back OpenAI Data Center Guarantee and More
Here’s a roundup of recent Ohio news: the National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado struck the south side of Columbus during Tuesday’s derecho, with winds around 90 mph and damage that displaced residents; tornado-warned storms swept the Miami Valley again Saturday night; Nvidia scaled back its funding guarantee for the OpenAI data center project in southern Ohio; new polls show Sherrod Brown with a narrow lead over Jon Husted in the U.S. Senate race; and Haitian residents of Springfield who lost Temporary Protected Status are being required to report to ICE and wear GPS ankle monitors.
NWS confirms EF1 tornado struck Columbus’ south side
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado hit the south side of Columbus during Tuesday’s severe storms — a derecho — with winds around 90 mph and damage that displaced residents. (NBC4 WCMH-TV, 10TV, WSYX, WYSO, The Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 13 and Aug. 15, 2026) NWS crews also documented straight-line wind damage in Upper Arlington.
More tornado-warned storms Saturday night
Tornado-warned storms swept the Miami Valley late Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, with funnel clouds reported and a tornado reported on the ground near Saint Paris in Champaign County. (WHIO TV, WDTN, The Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 15-16, 2026) Warnings were issued for the Piqua, Troy and Sidney areas, a tornado warning also sounded for Franklin County, and a flood watch covered central Ohio after storms brought damaging winds.
Nvidia scales back funding guarantee for OpenAI data center in southern Ohio
The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 14 that Nvidia has downsized its plans to guarantee up to $250 billion in debt for the massive OpenAI data center project in southern Ohio, part of the Stargate effort. (WSJ, Reuters, CNBC, The Information, TechRadar, NBC4 WCMH-TV, Aug. 3-16, 2026) The Information, CNBC and Reuters reported Aug. 15-16 that Nvidia is in talks to invest up to $3 billion in SoftBank’s SB Energy as part of the deal, and reports earlier this month put the project at around 10 gigawatts with total costs that could reach $500 billion.
Brown holds narrow lead over Husted as economic anxiety defines Senate race
A Fox News poll released Aug. 13 found economic anxiety and candidate concerns defining Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, with Democrat Sherrod Brown, seeking a comeback after losing his seat in 2024, holding a narrow lead over Republican Jon Husted. (Fox News, The Washington Examiner, The Hill, The New York Times, Aug. 13-15, 2026) The Hill reported Aug. 15 that Brown and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton hold slim leads over Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy in new polling.
Haitian residents of Springfield required to report to ICE, wear ankle monitors
ICE agents have seized passports and issued GPS ankle monitors to Haitian residents of Springfield, Ohio, who lost Temporary Protected Status, requiring them to report regularly to ICE offices. (Springfield News-Sun, NBC News, The Guardian, Ohio Capital Journal, Aug. 11-14, 2026) Advocates describe the monitoring as a new humiliation for a community bracing for deportation.
For more on the Buckeye State, see the Ohio guide.
Sources
NBC4 WCMH-TV; 10TV; WSYX; WYSO; The Columbus Dispatch; WHIO TV; WDTN; The Wall Street Journal; Reuters; CNBC; The Information; TechRadar; Fox News; The Washington Examiner; The Hill; The New York Times; Springfield News-Sun; NBC News; The Guardian; Ohio Capital Journal.