Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 29, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 29, 2002
Start: 2002-07-29T15:55
End: 2002-07-29T20:15
Location: Ohio

July 29, 2002 · NWS CLE · 38 events in 26 counties and zones

38 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 1
Injuries: 4
Property damage: $831,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 38

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 Jul 29, 1:50 PM EST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 29, 1:50 PM EST, 2 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
250 PM EDT MON JUL 29 2002

STORMS FILLING IN ACRS INDIANA ASSOCD WITH TROUGH AHD OF FNT. CAPES
OVR NW OH PUSHING 3000 J/KG AND ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BFR ACTIVITY
BGNS TO CROSS FCST AREA. WL USE LEFTOVER WX PERIOD FOR NW OH AND
MAINLY BFR MIDNIGHT FOR E COUNTIES AND WL MENTION SVR STORMS. DO NOT
THINK THERE WL BE MUCH NEW ACTIVITY DVLP ON CDFNT BUT WL ALLOW PCPN
TO LINGER YNG TO ERI OVNGT. AIR NOT MUCH COOLER BHND FNT BUT
DEWPOINTS WL DROP OFF GRADUALLY. SFC HI PROGGED TO WANDER ACRS LWR
LAKES THRU MIDWEEK THEN HEAT WL PROB SNEAK BACK IN AHD OF NEXT FNT
LATE IN THE WORK WEEK. BACK DOOR TYPE OF FNT FRI AND MAY NOT BE MUCH
PCPN BUT WL KEEP CHC SHOWERS/STORMS. FAVOR WARMER GUIDANCE TEMPS
TOMORROW MID/UPR 80S WITH SIMILAR READINGS WED. COULD GET CLOSE TO
90 NR TOL BUT HOPEFULLY SOME RAIN ON THE PARCHED GROUND WL ADD SOME
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION TO THE PROCESS.

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

KOSARIK

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

38 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wood

When: July 29, 3:55 PM EST
Where: Wood County, Perrysburg
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.567, -83.633

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and damaged a house.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hancock

When: July 29, 4:40 PM EST
Where: Hancock County, Countywide
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.983, -83.633

A 61 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured at the Findlay Airport. Many trees were downed across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wood

When: July 29, 4:45 PM EST
Where: Wood County, Bradner
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.317, -83.450

Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ottawa

When: July 29, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Ottawa County, Catawba Is
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.583, -82.850

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hancock

When: July 29, 5:05 PM EST to 5:20 PM EST
Where: Hancock County, Findlay
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.033, -83.650

Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs and snapped a power pole.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ottawa

When: July 29, 5:10 PM EST
Where: Ottawa County, Port Clinton
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.517, -82.950

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wyandot

When: July 29, 5:13 PM EST
Where: Wyandot County, Wharton
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.867, -83.467

Thunderstorm winds downed several large limbs.

Thunderstorm Wind, Seneca

When: July 29, 5:30 PM EST
Where: Seneca County, Countywide
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.117, -83.117

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees and limbs across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Marion

When: July 29, 5:50 PM EST
Where: Marion County, Marion
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.583, -83.133

Thunderstorm winds downed one tree and one power pole.

Thunderstorm Wind, Crawford

When: July 29, 5:50 PM EST
Where: Crawford County, Bucyrus
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.800, -82.983

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees. A house was slightly damaged by a tree.

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When: July 29, 5:53 PM EST
Where: Richland County, Shelby
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.883, -82.650

Thunderstorm winds downed many trees. Fallen trees damaged a parked car and a house.

Thunderstorm Wind, Morrow

When: July 29, 6:00 PM EST to 6:14 PM EST
Where: Morrow County, Fulton
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.467, -82.833

Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Fulton and Mount Gilead.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lorain

When: July 29, 6:00 PM EST to 6:40 PM EST
Where: Lorain County, Countywide
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.283, -82.117

Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Wellington, Lorain and Elyria. Four power poles were also downed near Elyria.

Thunderstorm Wind, Huron

When: July 29, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Huron County, Countywide
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.133, -82.567

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Erie

When: July 29, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Erie County, Countywide
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.383, -82.600

Thunderstorm winds downed trees and large limbs in Berlin Heights, Vermilion and Sandusky.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ashland

When: July 29, 6:00 PM EST to 6:20 PM EST
Where: Ashland County, Countywide
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.800, -82.283

Thunderstorm winds downed trees across the county. A small plane tied down at the Ashland County Airport was blown 65 feet, turned over and destroyed by wind gusts estimated at 65 mph.

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When: July 29, 6:10 PM EST
Where: Richland County, Mansfield
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.767, -82.517

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cuyahoga

When: July 29, 6:18 PM EST
Where: Cuyahoga County, Rocky River
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.467, -81.850

A trained spotter estimated thunderstorm winds at 60 mph.

Thunderstorm Wind, Knox

When: July 29, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Knox County, Howard
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.400, -82.333

Thunderstorm winds downed many trees near Apple Valley Lake in northeastern Knox County. A vehicle travelling on U.S. 36 just west of Howard was struck by a falling tree. A two year old female inside the car was killed and four other occupants were seriously injured.

Thunderstorm Wind, Medina

When: July 29, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Medina County, Countywide
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.133, -81.933

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Medina

When: July 29, 6:36 PM EST to 6:50 PM EST
Where: Medina County, Medina
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.133, -81.867

A 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured. Numerous trees and large limbs were downed in and around Medina.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cuyahoga

When: July 29, 6:42 PM EST
Where: Cuyahoga County, Cleveland
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 41.467, -81.750

A 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured in downtown Cleveland.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cuyahoga

When: July 29, 6:42 PM EST to 6:50 PM EST
Where: Cuyahoga County, North Olmsted
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.417, -81.917

Thunderstorm winds downed large trees in North Olmsted and North Royalton.

Thunderstorm Wind, Holmes

When: July 29, 6:50 PM EST
Where: Holmes County, Millersburg
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.550, -81.917

Thunderstorm winds downed several trees west of Millersburg.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wayne

When: July 29, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Wayne County, Wooster
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.800, -81.933

Thunderstorm winds downed many trees in Wooster. Several homes were damaged by the fallen trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: July 29, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Lake County, Countywide
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.717, -81.250

Thunderstorm winds downed trees across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Medina

When: July 29, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Medina County, Countywide
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.133, -81.933

Thunderstorm winds downed trees across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Geauga

When: July 29, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Geauga County, Middlefield
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.467, -81.067

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Summit

When: July 29, 7:10 PM EST
Where: Summit County, Twinsburg
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 41.317, -81.433

Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree.

Thunderstorm Wind, Portage

When: July 29, 7:10 PM EST to 7:25 PM EST
Where: Portage County, Countywide
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.183, -81.200

Thunderstorm winds downed many trees across the northern and central portions of Portage County. A car was damaged by a fallen tree near Brimfield. A small farm building was heavily damaged in Ravenna Township.

Thunderstorm Wind, Summit

When: July 29, 7:15 PM EST
Where: Summit County, Tallmadge
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.100, -81.433

Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ashtabula

When: July 29, 7:20 PM EST
Where: Ashtabula County, Conneaut
Property damage: $35,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.950, -80.550

Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs in a campground. The limbs damaged at least two motor homes.

Thunderstorm Wind, Portage

When: July 29, 7:22 PM EST
Where: Portage County, Kent
Property damage: $35,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.150, -81.350

Thunderstorm winds downed around a dozen trees and damaged the roof of a house.

Thunderstorm Wind, Medina

When: July 29, 7:30 PM EST
Where: Medina County, Countywide
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.133, -81.933

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees across the western portion of the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Stark

When: July 29, 7:35 PM EST to 7:40 PM EST
Where: Stark County, Hartville
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.967, -81.333

Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees and large limbs in Hartville and Lake Township.

Thunderstorm Wind, Trumbull

When: July 29, 7:45 PM EST
Where: Trumbull County, Countywide
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.300, -80.767

Thunderstorm winds downed many trees in the northwestern and southeastern portions of Trumbull County.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mahoning

When: July 29, 8:05 PM EST
Where: Mahoning County, Youngstown
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.067, -80.650

A 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured. Several trees and large limbs were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Stark

When: July 29, 8:15 PM EST
Where: Stark County, Alliance
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.917, -81.100

Thunderstorm winds downed two large tree limbs.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Thunderstorm Wind, Knox	2002-07-29	2	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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.

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, July 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: 5307618, 5307553, 5307634, 5307624, 5307714, 5307637, 5307559, 5307619, 5307625, 5307715, 5307722, 5307621, 5307623, 5307626, 5307628, 5307713, 5307716, 5307620, 5307557, 5307627, 5307554, 5307622, 5307719, 5307630, 5307629, 5307635, 5307712, 5307720, 5307633, 5307721, 5307632, 5307636, 5307718, 5307717, 5307555, 5307558, 5307556, 5307631.