Fake Tri-State tornado photos go viral

CINCINNATI - The creator of two photos of a supposed Tri-State tornado in the Eastgate area Wednesday morning has confirmed to 9 News that the snapshots are fake.

The two pictures in the slideshow to the left were sent around inboxes Wednesday morning after severe storms passed through the region.

The tornadoes were supposedly seen from the Eastgate Mall parking lot.

9 News got in contact with the original creator of the photos, and he says the photos are fake and that he actually made them in October of 2010 on a whim for fun. The sender says that he created them and posted them to his private Facebook page for inside humor, but a friend mistook the pictures to be real when they saw them in the "recently uploaded by friend" section that Facebook puts random photos from random friends at random times in.

The friend then sent the photos around their office before the creator could say that they were fake, causing the photos to go viral around the Tri-State.

The Eastgate area and Clermont County were never under a Tornado Warning Wednesday morning and the National Weather Service has not confirmed any tornadoes touched down in the Tri-State.

The storm that did move through the region prompted a Tornado Warning in Grant, Boone, Owen, Carroll, Pendelton, Kenton, Campbell and Gallatin counties. The storm was capable of producing 1.5-inch hail and 60 mph winds or greater.

The sender says it was a complete misunderstanding that the photos got out and there was no malicious intention to have them go viral.

To see some real storm photos from Wednesday morning, check out our severe weather photo gallery by visiting http://www.wcpo.com/gallery/news/news_photo_gallery/Storms-roll-through-the-Tri-State .

Also, send any real storm photos you have from Wednesday's weather to breakingnews@wcpo.com .

Severe weather is expected to return to the Tri-State some time Wednesday afternoon. Find out what to expect at wcpo.com/forecast .