2003

(8 Chases)

February 22, 2003: Low pressure moved across southeastern Ohio spreading precipitation northward across the region. The precipitation initially began as rain but quickly changed to snow during the afternoon hours of the 22nd. Some freezing rain also fell in Seneca and Erie Counties and ice accumulations of up to a quarter of an inch occurred in these counties. Once the snow began, it quickly intensified and whiteout conditions were reported during the evening hours. The snow continued through daybreak on the 23rd and then quickly tapered to flurries. Total snow accumulations ranged from around six inches in southern Hancock and western Erie Counties to nine inches in Lucas County. Strong northerly winds with occasional gusts to 40 mph accompanied the snow and caused considerable blowing and drifting. Drifts as high as 3 to 5 feet were observed in Lucas and Wood Counties.


May 11, 2003: A strong cold front extending south from an area of low pressure over the northern Great Lakes moved into Northwest Ohio during the morning hours and as far east as Pennsylvania by late afternoon. Strong and gusty westerly winds behind this front caused scattered power outages across northern Ohio. Hundreds of trees and utility poles were downed. Fallen trees significantly damaged homes in Erie, Knox, Lucas, Portage and Seneca Counties. Many automobiles were also damaged across the area. In Toledo alone (Lucas County), 30 trees and 238 large limbs were downed by the strong winds. Peak measured wind gusts include: 52 mph at Toledo (Lucas County); 54 mph at Findlay (Hancock County).


March 20, 2003: Quarter size hail was observed.


March 28, 2003: Showers moved across Ottawa County during the evening hours. Although no thunder or lightning was reported, the showers were intense enough to cause some damage in the county. Wind gusts were estimated to be in excess of 50 mph. A few trees and large limbs were downed in Port Clinton. A barn was leveled near Oak Harbor and a nearby house was also damaged by the strong winds.


April 3 2003: A estimated wind gust of 60mph occurred. Limbs were down and some singles were blown off some roofs in bowling green.


April 9 2003: 1-inch hail was observed in Swanton, Ohio.


July 8 2003: About10 miles West of Toledo, 6 trees were down by thunderstorm winds. In Bowling Green, approximately 100 trees down and 3 airport hangers and 14 air planes also damaged.


August 3, 2003: 

3/4 hail was observed 5 miles NW of Bowling Green. Also reported there was about 20 tents blown down at the Wood county fair.


November 12, 2003: A strong arctic cold front moved across northern Ohio on the evening of the 12th. Gusty westerly winds behind the front caused widespread damage. Most of the damage occurred during the late evening hours of the 12th and the early morning hours of the 13th. A peak wind gust of 63 mph was recorded at Toledo Express Airport (Lucas County) at 8:59 p.m. with 60 mph gusts at both Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport (Cuyahoga County) and Waco (Stark County). Hundreds of trees and utility poles were downed around northern Ohio. Scattered power outages were reported as well. Several homes and buildings were damaged by the strong winds and fallen trees in the area. Homes were damaged in Lucas, Marion, Seneca and Portage Counties. Finally, significant crop losses were reported as a result of the strong winds. Hundreds, if not thousands of acres of corn were either partially or completely flattened.


2004

(4 Chases)

January 4, 2004: An area of low pressure moved up the Ohio Valley spreading mixed precipitation across Northwest Ohio. The precipitation began as rain but quickly changed to freezing rain and sleet during the afternoon hours. The precipitation changed to snow during the evening hours with accumulations of 4 to 5 inches reported in Lucas and Wood counties by early morning. Snow accumulations further south and east were generally 1 to 3 inches. Some ice accumulation was also reported across the area. Many accidents and significant travel delays resulted from this storm.


April 5, 2004: ¾ inch hail in Toledo.

April 23, 2004: Large tree was down causing minor damage to a house in Perrysburg.


May 21, 2004: A line of severe thunderstorms moved across Lucas County and downed dozens of trees. Scattered power outages were also reported. A few homes and vehicles were damaged by fallen trees and flying debris.


October 30, 2004: An area of strong low pressure moved east across the region on October 30th. A cold front trailing the low moved across northwestern Ohio during the middle part of the day. Gusty southwest winds behind the front downed many trees and damaged several vehicles and buildings. Peak measured wind gusts included: 58 mph at Toledo Express Airport (Lucas County); 55 mph at Toledo Metcalf Airport (Ottawa County) and 53 mph at the Findlay Airport (Hancock County).


December 22, 2004: A potent winter storm affected northwestern Ohio on December 22nd and 23rd. Low pressure developed over eastern Texas early on the 22nd and then moved quickly northeast. The low eventually tracked across eastern Ohio during the morning hours of the 23rd after dumping nearly two feet of snow on portions of Ohio. The snow began in the Findlay area around mid morning on the 22nd and spread north into the Toledo area during the evening. The snow intensified during the late evening hours with heavy snow then continuing through daybreak on the 23rd. Snowfall rates of around an inch per hour occurred during the early morning hours of the 23rd with visibilities less than one quarter mile at times. Northerly winds behind the low increased during the evening hours of the 22nd and this caused much blowing and drifting as well. Drifts two to three feet deep were common. Snowfall totals from this event ranged from 12 to 15 inches in southern Hancock and eastern Sandusky Counties to 7 to 10 inches in far western Lucas County. Accumulations a little further east in north-central Ohio were nearly two feet at some spots. Officially, 7.9 inches of snow fell at Toledo Express Airport (Lucas County). Travel was nearly impossible during the peak of this event. Hundreds of accidents occurred and it took several days for road crews to clean up after this event.


2005

(4 Chases)

January 4, 2005: Heavy rain and runoff from snowmelt caused extensive flooding in Wood, Lucas and Ottawa Counties the first half of January. The flooding was most severe along the Maumee and Portage Rivers. At Waterville in Wood County, the Maumee River first went above the flood stage of 9 feet during the late morning hours of January 4th and then again around midday on the 12th. Moderate flooding was reported during the middle part of the month with a peak crest of 13.8 feet late in the afternoon of January 14th. Upstream at Grand Rapids, moderate flooding occurred on the 13th and 14th with a crest of 19.07 feet at midday on the 14th. At least 21 businesses and dozens of homes were damaged by flooding in Grand Rapids. Similar damage was reported in Waterville. Devastating flooding was also reported along the Portage River in Pemberville on the 12th through the 16th. Flood waters in portions of the town were up to five feet deep and nearly 20,000 sandbags were used to fight the flooding. Many evacuations occurred and dozens of homes and businesses were damaged. All of this flooding was caused by a combination of rapid snowmelt and heavy rain. January 2005 was the 8th wettest January ever at Toledo with 4.52 inches of precipitation measured for the month at Toledo Express Airport. Monthly rainfall totals from the cooperative observer network included; 5.28 inches at Bowling Green (Wood County); 5.29 inches at Grand Rapids (Wood County); 5.87 inches at Hoytville (Wood County) and 5.78 inches at Elmore (Ottawa County). In addition to this rain, extensive snowpack existed over Wood, Lucas and Ottawa Counties at the beginning of the month. Temperatures in the 40s and 50s the first three days of the month caused a rapid snowmelt and brought area streams and creeks to bankfull just in time for a significant winter storm on the 5th and 6th. Then, just as things began to return to normal, heavy rains fell on the area on the 11th, 12th and 13th causing conditions to once again worsen. Many roads in Wood County and a few in Lucas and Ottawa Counties had to be closed because of flooding. In addition to the river flooding, hundreds of homes in these counties experienced basement or nuisance flooding. At least two dozen homes were damaged enough to be declared uninhabitable.


January 5, 2005: For the second time in just over two weeks, a devastating and historic winter storm affected Northern Ohio. Significant ice accumulations occurred over most of the area downing thousands of trees, causing widespread power outages and making travel nearly impossible. Low pressure over Missouri moved rapidly northeast on January 5th. This low moved across eastern Ohio early on January 6th and was responsible for producing a prolonged period of freezing rain. A mixture of rain and snow changed to freezing rain from west to east during the early morning hours of the 5th. Periods of freezing rain then continued for the remainder of the 5th and through the early morning hours of the 6th. Temperatures eventually warmed enough during the late morning hours of the 6th to change the freezing rain back to rain. The hardest hit locations were west of Interstate 71 along the U.S. Route 30 corridor. Ice accumulations of greater than three quarters of an inch were reported from Hancock County eastward across Wyandot, Crawford, Richland and Ashland Counties. Northern sections of Wyandot and Marion Counties along with the southern halves of Seneca and Huron County were also hard hit. Up to 80 percent of electric customers in these nine counties lost service during the storm, some for as much as ten days. In cities like Mansfield, Bucyrus and Findlay, nearly every property in some neighborhoods sustained tree damage. To the north and south of these areas ice accumulations ranged from one quarter to three quarters of an inch. Counties closer to Lake Erie saw snow mix with the freezing rain at times which kept ice accumulations down to around one quarter inch and resulted in only scattered power outages. A total of 3 to 5 inches of snow was also reported in these counties. Ice build up at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant (Ottawa County) damaged the facility enough to force it to be temporarily shut down. Hundreds of crews were brought in from around the county to help restore the power outages. In addition to damage caused by fallen trees and limbs, a lot of basement flooding occurred as power outages prevented sump pumps from working. Clean up and repair costs for this storm were among the highest ever recorded for a natural disaster in Ohio. Damage in many counties topped $1 million with a couple counties exceeding $10 million in losses. In Richland County alone, clean up cost accrued by local governments totaled nearly $6 million. Estimates indicate that as many as one million people lost power during this storm. Several power companies reported the largest number of outages in their histories. Hundreds if not thousands of homes and businesses were damaged by fallen trees, limbs and utility poles.


January 7, 2005: An area of weak low pressure moved across the region early on January 8th. Heavy snow fell in association with this low over extreme northwestern Ohio. Six to eight inches of snow fell on much of Lucas County.


January 22, 2005: An area of low pressure over the Northern Great Lakes moved southeast into northern Ohio early on January 22nd. Heavy snow associated with this low spread into northwestern Ohio just after midnight, and as far east as northeast Ohio by daybreak on the 22nd. Visibilities during the morning hours were reduced to near zero at times. The activity diminished during the middle part of the day as the low pulled out to the east. However, cold winds blowing across Lake Erie caused lake effect snow showers to develop during the afternoon from Cleveland east. The lake effect activity then persisted into the early morning hours of the 23rd. Northerly winds gusting to as high as 35 mph caused much blowing and drifting of snow. Accumulations during this event ranged from 7 to 12 inches across the northern quarter of Ohio with highest amounts in the Toledo area. Officially, 12 inches of snow was measured at Toledo Express Airport (Lucas County) Treacherous driving conditions were reported along with hundreds of accidents.


April 30, 2005: 1 inch hail was reported in Berkey, Ohio. Numerous large branches were observed down county wide. Also, trees were observed down on powerlines.


May 30, 2005: In Bowling Green, Ohio a few trees were down, some on powerlines



July 26, 2005: More winds from severe thunderstorms brought down 5 to 6 large trees in lucas county. About 7 miles east of Toledo a boat capsized at Crane Creek state park……..the rescue was successful.


November 6, 2005: very strong area of low pressure passed to the north of Lake Erie on November 6th. A cold front trailing the low swept east across northern Ohio and produced damaging winds. The front moved through the Toledo area around daybreak and reached the Interstate 71 corridor by midday. The front exited Ohio to the east during the afternoon. Westerly winds behind the front gusted in excess of 50 mph. Hundreds of trees were downed across northern Ohio. Fallen trees damaged several homes. There were also many reports of snapped power poles and downed lines resulting in scattered outages. Severe thunderstorms occurred ahead of the cold front and also caused considerable damage.


December 9 2005: An area of low pressure quickly moved from central Indiana to north-central Ohio during the evening hours of December 8th. Snow associated with this low spread into northwest Ohio during the afternoon hours of the 8th. Heavy snow developed during the evening hours and continued into 9th. The snow tapered to flurries by daybreak. 6 to 8 inches of snow was reported across much of Lucas and Wood Counties. Travel along Interstate 75 was severely hampered by this snow. Dozens of accidents occurred.


2006

(5 Chases)



May 16, 2006: 2 miles south of Bowling Green, penny to pea size hail was reported.


June 21, 2006: The public reported a tornado near the intersection of Sterns and Douglas roads in Toledo. 1¾ inch hail in Sylvaina , Thunderstorms dumped torrential rainfall on Lucas County during the evening hours of June 21st. Rainfall rates with the stronger storms exceeded 3 inches per hour. A peak rainfall total of 7.25 inches was measured near the University of Toledo. Other totals from across the county included: 5.15 inches in West Toledo; 5.01 inches in Richfield Township; 4.06 inches in downtown Toledo and 2.72 inches at Toledo Express Airport. Most of this rain fell between 7 and 10 p.m., and a spotter in West Toledo measured 3.4 inches of rain between 7 and 8:30 p.m. Devastating flash flooding occurred across the county with Toledo, Maumee and Sylvania especially hard hit. Roads and streets throughout the county were turned into rivers. Hundreds of vehicles became stranded in the flood waters and emergency responders performed dozens of boat rescues. Shantee Creek left it's banks causing extensive damage along Crawford and Poinsetta Avenues. Many stores at the Franklin Park Mall and dozens of homes nearby were damaged by flooding after a drainage ditch along Monroe Street (State Route 51) overflowed. Floodwaters in these areas were reported to be several feet in depth. Extensive damage was also reported on Longwood Avenue. Dozens of roads and streets had to be closed with many of them under as much as four feet of water. Two homes were destroyed in Lucas County during this event with 125 homes sustaining major damage and around 200 homes suffering minor damage. An additional 1,000 homes sustained damage from basement or nuisance flooding. The City of Toledo alone spent over $250,000 responding to this event. Local officials stated that this was the worst flooding seen in the area since July 4th, 1969.


June 22, 2006: ¾ inch hail was reported in Pemberville.


July 14, 2006: Up to two inches of rain fell on the Toledo area as thunderstorms moved across Lucas County. A spotter in Toledo measured 1.1 inches during a 25 minute period ending around 4 p.m. Many streets in the city were flooded and had to be closed. Many homes sustained damage from basement flooding.


July 27, 2006: Heavy thunderstorm rains fell on Lucas County during the late evening hours of July 27th. An automated sensor at Toledo Express Airport measured 1.68 inches of rain during a 40 minute period beginning around 9 p.m. and a storm total of 3.21 inches. Street flooding was reported at many locations in the county with the East Toledo area seeing the worst flooding. Flood waters in some locations were as much as two feet deep. The flooding quickly subsided once the rain ended. Several dozens homes in East Toledo sustained damage, mainly from basement flooding. A broken sewer line was partially responsible for this damage.