Ohio, 2001

Waterspouts in Ohio, August 20, 2001

August 20, 2001 · NWS CLE · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

3 waterspout, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Cleveland, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 20, 10:46 AM EST, 1 hour 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 10:46 AM EST, 1 hour 39 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
1146 AM EDT MON AUG 20 2001

SFC TROF IS SLOWLY SHIFTG SE TO THE SRN SHORE OF LAKE ERIE. LINE OF
WK CONVECTION WITH IT HAS CONT TO WKEN THIS MORNG.  WRAP AROUND LOW
CLDS AND A FEW SHOWERS OVER ERN LOWER MI WL LIKELY MOVE INTO NRN OH
AND NW PA FOR THE AFTN.  WL CONT THE CHC OF RW/TSTM. CLDS AND PCPN
ARE KEEPING TEMP DOWNS SO WL LOWER MAX TEMP FCST FOR THE AFTN.

.CLE...
OH...NONE.
PA...NONE.

REL

The radar

The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, Lorain

When
August 20, 12:25 PM EST
Where
Lorain County, Avon Lake
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.453, -82.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A waterspout was observed on Lake Erie just offshore from Avon Lake. The waterspout dissipated before causing any damage.

Waterspout, Lake

When
August 20, 4:00 PM EST
Where
Lake County, Fairport Harbor
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.714, -81.245 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A waterspout was observed on Lake Erie just offshore from Fairport Harbor. No damage was reported.

Waterspout, Lake

When
August 20, 4:15 PM EST
Where
Lake County, Painesville
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.714, -81.245 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A waterspout was observed on Lake Erie just offshore from Painesville. No damage was reported.

What these are

Waterspout
A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, August 2001

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: 5265719, 5265721, 5265720.