Ice Storm in Ohio, January 30 to 31, 2002

Name: Ice Storm in Ohio, January 30 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-30T21:00
End: 2002-01-31T10:00
Location: Ohio

January 30 to 31, 2002 · NWS CLE · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Low pressure passed to the northwest of Ohio. Freezing rain developed to the north of a warm front extending east from this low.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: $3.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

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.

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 Jan 30, 8:35 PM EST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 8:35 PM EST, 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
835 PM EST WED JAN 30 2002

FEW CHANGES TO THIS AFTERNOONS FORECAST. ADJUSTED WORDING IN
ADVISORY AREA AS EXPECT RAIN IN EASTERN CWA TO TURN TO A MIX THEN
BACK TO RA AFTER MIDNIGHT AS ARKANSAS LOW TREKS INTO TN/OH VALLEY.
MESOETA CONTINUES TO SHOW COLDER AIR MOVING OVER NW OH AND THEN
LINGERING SO LITTLE CHANGE THERE.

.CLE...
OH...WINTER STORM WARNING OVERNIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING
      OHZ003-006>008
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY OVERNIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING
      OHZ009>014-017>023-027>031-036-037-089
PA...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING...PAZ001>003

DJB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Lucas

When: January 30, 9:00 PM EST to January 31, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Lucas forecast zone
Property damage: $1.2 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.684, -83.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Ottawa

When: January 30, 9:00 PM EST to January 31, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Ottawa forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.497, -82.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Sandusky

When: January 30, 9:00 PM EST to January 31, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Sandusky forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.357, -83.144 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Wood

When: January 30, 9:00 PM EST to January 31, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Wood forecast zone
Property damage: $800,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.362, -83.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Ohio in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Ohio, January 2002

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: 5279516, 5279517, 5279589, 5279590.