Flash Flooding in Ohio, June 1, 1997

Name: Flash Flooding in Ohio, June 1, 1997
Start: 1997-06-01T07:10
End: 1997-06-01T16:05
Location: Ohio

June 1, 1997 · NWS CLE · 28 events in 27 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 28 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.6 million
Crop damage: $610,000
Events: 28

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS CLE wrote it up.

Heavy thunderstorm rain that began in May continued to fall on saturated ground, causing flooding of streets, streams, homes, fields and low lying areas. Many roads were closed and berms washed out forcing the closing of some schools. In Bay Township (Ottawa County), Muddy Creek overflowed its banks and flooded a trailer park. Firemen dropped their hoses into the floodwater and used it to extinguish the blaze when one of the trailers caught on fire. In Bettsville (Seneca), the local fire department sandbagged several houses to keep the waters of Wolf Creek from flooding the homes. In Twinsburg (Portage), several homes,roads and low lying areas were flooded by Tinker's Creek, which rose to nearly six feet. Center Valley Park was closed and a footbridge in East Idlewood Park was under water. In Medina County at Chippewa Lake, 25 homes in Gloria Glens were flooded. Residents were evacuated and used rowboats to get to and from their houses. In Summit County, Sagamore Road in Sagamore Hills was washed out, while in Bath Township Yellow Creek Road and Boston Mills Road were closed due to mudslides. Another mudslide occurred in Garfield Heights (Cuyahoga) when the rain washed out an embankment and buried three corvettes at an auto performance shop. Also in Cuyahoga County, Martin Luther King Boulevard was closed for two hours due to flooding. In Wayne County, 29 people were evacuated on Prairie Lane Road and 23 people were provided temporary housing in local hotels. Health officials throughout Northern Ohio warned residents that wells and cisterns could be contaminated from the floodwaters and should be cleaned and tested before further use. Crop losses occurred due to continued delays in planting. A number of farmers planted soybeans, a less valuable crop, instead of corn.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

28 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Fulton

When: June 1, 7:10 AM EST to 3:05 PM EST
Where: Fulton County, Countywide
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.602, -84.130 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Henry

When: June 1, 7:10 AM EST to 3:10 PM EST
Where: Henry County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.334, -84.068 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lucas

When: June 1, 7:10 AM EST to 3:05 PM EST
Where: Lucas County, Countywide
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.684, -83.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ottawa

When: June 1, 7:10 AM EST to 3:15 PM EST
Where: Ottawa County, Countywide
Property damage: $90,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.497, -82.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Seneca

When: June 1, 7:10 AM EST to 3:20 PM EST
Where: Seneca County, Countywide
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 41.124, -83.128 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Wood

When: June 1, 7:10 AM EST to 3:10 PM EST
Where: Wood County, Countywide
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.362, -83.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Hancock

When: June 1, 7:23 AM EST to 3:15 PM EST
Where: Hancock County, Countywide
Property damage: $100,000
Crop damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 41.002, -83.666 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Wyandot

When: June 1, 7:29 AM EST to 11:51 AM EST
Where: Wyandot County, Countywide
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 40.842, -83.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Erie

When: June 1, 7:30 AM EST to 3:20 PM EST
Where: Erie County, Countywide
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.432, -82.700 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Holmes

When: June 1, 7:33 AM EST to 9:35 AM EST
Where: Holmes County, Countywide
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 40.561, -81.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Sandusky

When: June 1, 7:40 AM EST to 3:20 PM EST
Where: Sandusky County, Countywide
Property damage: $90,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 41.357, -83.144 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Huron

When: June 1, 8:00 AM EST to 11:51 AM EST
Where: Huron County, Countywide
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 41.146, -82.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lorain

When: June 1, 8:15 AM EST to 3:10 PM EST
Where: Lorain County, Countywide
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 41.453, -82.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Marion

When: June 1, 8:15 AM EST to 3:18 PM EST
Where: Marion County, Countywide
Property damage: $60,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.587, -83.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Medina

When: June 1, 8:15 AM EST to 9:59 AM EST
Where: Medina County, Countywide
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.118, -81.900 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Crawford

When: June 1, 8:55 AM EST to 3:25 PM EST
Where: Crawford County, Countywide
Property damage: $60,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.851, -82.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ashland

When: June 1, 8:58 AM EST to 3:45 PM EST
Where: Ashland County, Countywide
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.846, -82.271 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Knox

When: June 1, 9:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Knox County, Countywide
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 40.399, -82.421 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Morrow

When: June 1, 9:00 AM EST to 3:20 PM EST
Where: Morrow County, Countywide
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.524, -82.794 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Richland

When: June 1, 9:00 AM EST to 12:03 PM EST
Where: Richland County, Countywide
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 40.775, -82.536 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Cuyahoga

When: June 1, 9:15 AM EST to 3:45 PM EST
Where: Cuyahoga County, Countywide
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.479, -81.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Summit

When: June 1, 9:20 AM EST to 1:29 PM EST
Where: Summit County, Countywide
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 41.126, -81.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Geauga

When: June 1, 9:30 AM EST to 10:39 AM EST
Where: Geauga County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 41.500, -81.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Wayne

When: June 1, 9:50 AM EST to 3:13 PM EST
Where: Wayne County, Countywide
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.829, -81.888 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Holmes

When: June 1, 11:00 AM EST to 3:35 PM EST
Where: Holmes County, Countywide
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 40.561, -81.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lake

When: June 1, 11:50 AM EST to 3:55 PM EST
Where: Lake County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.714, -81.245 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Stark

When: June 1, 11:56 AM EST to 3:17 PM EST
Where: Stark County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 40.814, -81.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Portage

When: June 1, 12:15 PM EST to 4:05 PM EST
Where: Portage County, Countywide
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.168, -81.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Ohio in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Ohio, June 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5606214, 5606217, 5606342, 5607209, 5607280, 5607284, 5606216, 5607285, 5606213, 5607286, 5607279, 5606219, 5606222, 5607206, 5607207, 5606211, 5606210, 5606220, 5607208, 5607211, 5606212, 5607282, 5606215, 5607283, 5606218, 5606221, 5607281, 5607210.