Ohio, 2001

Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Ohio, May 21, 2001

May 21, 2001 · NWS CLE · 11 events in 6 counties and zones

4 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
1
Property damage
$1.5 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 May 21, 2:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 2:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
315 PM EDT MON MAY 21 2001

TWO BEST AREAS FOR TSRA DEVELOPMENT NEAR WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY FROM
NE OH INTO WV.  BUT LIMITED CAPES...SUNSHINE...AND SOME WK MID LEVEL
CAPING...AND LACK OF UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT SHOULD LIMIT TSRA
DEVELOPMENT NE OH AND NW PA LATE THIS AFTERNOON.

BEST AREA OF DEVELOPMENT AHEAD OF COLD FRONT NOW INTO WRN IN.  AS
500MB VORT LIFTS NE ACROSS CWA...AND LL JET OF 45 KTS AT 850 NOW IN
KY NUDGES OVER AREA BY 00Z.  EXPECT TSRA TO DEVELOP IN AREA OF
DEEPER MOISTURE AND PROGRESS N THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...AS
LL JET INCREASES CHANCE OF STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE.

.OH...NONE
.PA..b.NONE.

DJB

The radar

The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 35 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:51 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lorain

When
May 21, 4:00 PM EST
Where
Lorain County, Penfield
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
41.167, -82.117

Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs.

Funnel Cloud, Lorain

When
May 21, 4:02 PM EST
Where
Lorain County, Grafton
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.453, -82.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was reported over the Grafton Correctional Facility. No damage occurred.

Funnel Cloud, Lorain

When
May 21, 4:10 PM EST
Where
Lorain County, La Grange
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
41.453, -82.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was reported just southwest of Lagrange.

Tornado, Medina

When
May 21, 4:25 PM EST to 4:40 PM EST
Where
Medina County, Chatham
Rating
F2
Path length
7.5 mi
Path width
80 yd
Property damage
$1.0 million
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
41.100, -82.017

A tornado touched down along New London Eastern Road near Pawnee in southwestern Chatham Township. The tornado then traveled northeast for approximately 7.5 miles before dissipating along State Route 83 about three miles north of Chatham. The damage path was intermittent and approximately 250 feet in width. A new home was completely destroyed near the location of the initial touchdown. A truck nearby was thrown 500 feet by the tornado. A church and parsonage were damaged along Old Mill Road. The tornado then struck an alpaca farm along State Route 83 north of Chatham and destroyed three barns and damaged several other outbuildings. Several garages and a home were damaged elsewhere along the damage path. Over three hundred trees were knocked down and two cars destroyed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Medina

When
May 21, 5:50 PM EST
Where
Medina County, Spencer
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.100, -82.117

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and heavily damaged a barn.

Thunderstorm Wind, Holmes

When
May 21, 5:50 PM EST
Where
Holmes County, Millersburg
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.550, -81.917

Thunderstorm winds downed two trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Holmes

When
May 21, 5:57 PM EST
Where
Holmes County, Millersburg
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.550, -81.917

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees just south of Millersburg.

Funnel Cloud, Summit

When
May 21, 6:20 PM EST
Where
Summit County, Northfield
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.126, -81.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was reported at Northfield Center. No damage was reported.

Tornado, Stark

When
May 21, 6:43 PM EST
Where
Stark County, Canton
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
100 yd
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$450,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.800, -81.383

A tornado touched down briefly on the southwest side of Canton. The tornado first touched down near the intersection of 13th Street and Raff Road where a semi truck was thrown 50 to 100 feet. An occupant inside the truck sustained minor injuries. The tornado remained on the ground for approximately one half mile and blew over seven additional tractor trailers. A roof was torn off of a warehouse and a nearby garage was also damaged. Many trees were knocked down.

Flash Flood, Medina

When
May 21, 6:45 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Medina County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.118, -81.900 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorms dumped over two inches of rain in less than an hour causing flooding across the county. State Route 162 near Spencer was under one to two feet of water and had to be closed. Major street flooding was also reported in Chatham, Litchfield and Lodi.

Flash Flood, Cuyahoga

When
May 21, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Cuyahoga County, North Olmsted
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.479, -81.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorms dumped between one and two inches of rain in less than 90 minutes. The heavy rain caused the Rocky River to leave its banks in North Olmsted. A car became stuck in the flood waters and two people in the car had to be rescued by firefighters.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Ohio, 2001Warnings in Ohio, May 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: 5246606, 5246688, 5246687, 5246685, 5246689, 5246691, 5246605, 5246686, 5246607, 5246690, 5246692.