1999
(8 Chases)
January 2, 1999: Snow changed to freezing rain and sleet, with a brief change to rain as temperatures rose slightly above freezing, and then back to snow. Temperatures dropped quickly into the teens causing the wet snow and ice to refreeze and creating significant ice on the ground, roads and sidewalks. Snow accumulations generally averaged six to eight inches with as much as 10 inches in northwest Ohio. Travel was restricted when some counties declared level two or three emergencies, including Wood, Lucas, Seneca and Hancock. Air temperatures eventually fell to near zero and the icy conditions and cold temperatures, with wind chills of around 30 degrees below zero, continued throughout the first week of January, closing schools and causing many minor car crashes and fender benders. Dozens of people were injured from falls on the ice. Many sidewalks and secondary streets remained uncleared for days due to the combination of very cold temperatures and thick ice. Salt was in such demand that most stores ran out and had difficulty restocking.
May 17, 1999:
June 6, 1999: thunderstorm winds down trees and power lines 2 miles west of Defiance, OH
June 11, 1999: Thunderstorm winds down a large limb, also knocked out power
July 14, 1999:
July 21, 1999:
July 24, 1999: In Lucas County—Many trees and power lines down
August 25, 1999: A funnel cloud was observed along Interstate 75 near Perrysburg. Trained spotters tracked the funnel for several minutes as it drifted slowly northeast. Although persistent rotation was observed, the funnel did not come in contact with the ground at any time. The funnel may have been a cold air funnel.
October 13, 1999: Danbury in Ottawa County, they were power poles and wires down
2000
(10 Chases)
March 11, 2000: Thunderstorms dumped in excess of three inches of rain on Wood County during the afternoon and evening hours. An automated gage at Mary Jane Thurston State Park on the border between Henry and Wood Counties measured 3.27 inches of rain. Several roads in the county had to be closed because of rapid water rises and flooding.
April 9 2000: A tornado was reported in Pemberville, also 1¾ inch hail was observed 5 miles north of Bowling Green, 1¼ inch hail was observed in Genoa, and 2¾ inch hail was reported in Bowling Green. Also 60mph wind gust was observed.
April 20, 2000: Thunderstorms dumped two to locally four inches of rain on Lucas County during the afternoon and evening hours. Officially, 2.81 inches of rain was measured at Toledo Express Airport. A small creek on the west side of Toledo left its banks and flooded Cheltenham, Goddard and Ilger roads
May 9, 2000: A 59 mph thunderstorm gust was measured at Toledo Express Airport at 806 pm EDT. Thunderstorm winds did extensive damage with trees downed throughout the county including in the cities of Toledo, Sylvania, Perrysburg and Maumee. A grocery store in Toledo sustained major damage when part of its roof was torn off and a brick wall collapsed. Debris from the wall injured two pedestrians. Both people were taken to a hospital where they were treated and released. Fallen trees damaged at least five cars including two police cruisers. A mobile home was crushed by a tree in Toledo and a pole barn was leveled outside of Sylvania.
July 29, 2000: Thunderstorms dumped torrential rain on Lucas County during the early afternoon hours. Rainfall amounts of up to 6.9 inches were measured in Toledo with most of that total falling between noon and 2 pm. Widespread flooding occurred in Toledo, especially on the west and north sides, and also in Sylvania. Hundreds of roads were flooded with over a dozen roads washed out. Water on many roads was in excess of six feet deep. Several dozen people were stranded in cars and had to be rescued. In Toledo, 10 homes were destroyed by flooding with 58 homes severely damaged. An additional 256 homes and apartments suffered minor damage. Hundreds of motor vehicles were also damaged by flooding including eight police cruisers. The police cruisers were damaged by a dumpster floating in three feet of water in the parking lot of the police station.
August 8, 2000: ¾ inch hail in Southwest Toledo.
Sept 23, 2000 2 miles Northwest of Fostoria, A large limb was knocked down blocking a road and several polls were damaged or down.
December 11, 2000: A deep area of low pressure moved across Lake Erie during the evening hours. Freezing rain fell for several hours along a warm front stretching east from the low. Ice accumulations in excess of one quarter inch fell over Lucas County. Scattered power outages and numerous accidents occurred.
December 13, 2000: Low pressure moved up the Ohio Valley and across central Ohio late on the 13th. Light precipitation began during the afternoon hours and increased in intensity during the evening. Significant ice accumulation was reported in this area by early on the 14th. Further north, most of the precipitation fell in the form of snow. The heaviest snow fell along and just south of Lake Erie. Accumulations of 7 inches were reported from Lucas County east to Huron County. Locations just south of the heavy snow band saw a mixture of freezing rain and snow. Scattered power outages resulted from the freezing rain accumulation. Numerous accidents were also reported.
2001
(3 Chases)
February 9, 2001: A strong cold front moved across northern Ohio during the evening hours. Damaging westerly winds occurred behind the front for a period of several hours. A 63 mph wind gust was recorded in Lucas County around 9 pm with a 61 mph gust measured in Ottawa County shortly after. Several hundred trees were downed throughout northern Ohio. Power poles were reported downed in Wood and Huron Counties. The strong winds also blew a semi truck over near Cygnet in Hancock County. Also, a portion of a roof was torn off of a house in Stark County near Canton.
April 7, 2001: Golf ball size hail was reported six miles east of Oregon. Several cars were damaged.
Sept 21 2001: Thunderstorm winds brought down several branches and knocked out power in Point Place.
2002
(3 Chases)
January 31, 2002: Low pressure passed to the northwest of Ohio. Freezing rain developed to the north of a warm front extending east from this low. Freezing rain was first reported late on the 30th and continued through the late morning hours on the 31st. Up to one-half inch of ice accumulation occurred in Lucas County with in excess of one-quarter inch of ice in Wood, Ottawa and Sandusky Counties. Scattered power outages resulted from downed power lines and trees. In Lucas County alone, over 400 trees and limbs were downed. Two dozen homes and 19 vehicles were damaged by these fallen trees. Scattered power outages and many downed trees were reported in the adjacent counties. A total of 106,000 customers lost power at some point during this storm.
March 9, 2002: A strong and very fast moving cold front raced east across northern Ohio during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Damaging winds occurred along and behind this front. Peak wind gusts include: 69 mph at Toledo Express Airport (Lucas County) at 258 pm; 63 mph at Findlay Airport (Hancock County) at 423 pm; 62 mph at the Lorain County Airport at 429 pm; 58 mph at Toledo Metcalf Airport (Wood County); Other measured wind gusts include; 100 mph at Bowling Green (Wood County); 78 mph at the Huron County Airport; 75 mph at Burton (Geauga County); 75 mph at Fremont Airport (Sandusky County);. Thousands of trees and hundreds of power poles were downed in northern Ohio. Widespread power outages occurred with several hundred thousand people without power at the peak of the storm. Three mobile homes were destroyed in Sandusky County injuring three people. A large building collapsed in North Baltimore (Wood County) and damaged two adjacent buildings forcing the closure of three businesses. Several buildings were destroyed in Wyandot County and an historic covered bridge was severely damaged. Two homes were destroyed in Ottawa County. Two cargo containers were blown off of a moving train and into Sandusky Bay (Erie County). Other buildings were destroyed in Seneca, Hancock, Crawford, Morrow, Ashland and Stark counties. Hundreds of other buildings sustained damage and over 100 cars were damaged or destroyed by debris and fallen trees.
November 11, 2002: This was one of the most exciting nights in recent memory. The tornado outbreak happen at night so I was stuck with the homechase. My location received an estimated 75mph wind gust and heavy rain. Other places weren’t so lucky. In Port Clinton, a F2 tornado was reported with a width of 50 yards wide and a track of 10 miles. In Whitehouse, and in Bowling Green, trees were down. A semi was blown onto a car in Bowling Green. The worst part was in Van Wert County, about an hour from my location, a F4 tornado occurred destroying a theater; two people were killed in that tornado.
December 24, 2002: An area of low pressure developed along the Gulf Coast early on December 24th and then moved rapidly northeast. This low moved across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania during the morning hours of the 25th. Snow developed well north of the low and spread into northern Ohio during the evening of the 24th. The snow intensified during the early morning hours and again in the afternoon. The snow finally tapered off from west to east during the evening of the 25th. Heavy snow fell in northern Ohio along and north of U.S. Highway 30. Generally, 6 to 10 inches of snow fell in this area with a maximum of 11.2 inches of snow recorded at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Snow totals at other locations include: 7.1 inches at Toledo Express Airport; Northwest winds increased to 15 to 25 mph during the storm and caused considerable blowing and drifting with whiteout conditions at times. Travel was severely hampered by this storm and dozens of accidents occurred as a result of the treacherous driving conditions caused by the snow.