Ohio, 2004

Flood in Ohio, May 21 to 23, 2004

May 21 to 23, 2004 · NWS CLE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$500,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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, 2:30 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 2:30 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OHIO
330 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004

.DISCUSSION...
LITTLE TIME THIS MORNING FOR DISCUSSION.  NGM SHOWS CRNT WX ACRS THE
AREA BEST.   NGM TAKES THIS EAST THRU THE MORNING AND THEN REDEVELOPS
CONVECTION WEST OF THE AREA THIS AFTN.  DURING THE DAY THE CDFNT
DROPS TO THE CWA AND THEN MOVES NORTH AGAIN DURING THE EVG AS A WARM
FRONT.  NGM KEEPS MOST OF THE CONVECTION NORTH OF THE AREA OVRNGT
BUT COULD SEE SOME OF THIS DROPPING SE INTO THE AREA WITH THE BEST
CHC BEING NERN OH AND NWRN PA.  SAT AND SUNDAY AGAIN FOCUS IS NORTH
OF THE AREA AS CWA IS AGAIN ENVELOPED INTO THE WARM SECTOR.

TK
&&

.CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OH...NONE
PA...NONE

&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Lorain

When
May 21, 6:00 AM EST to May 23, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Lorain forecast zone
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
41.453, -82.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy thunderstorm rains fell on most of Lorain County on May 21st and 22nd. Runoff from these rains caused rapid rises in both the West and East Branches of the Black River. The river crested at 17 feet in Elyria. This stage was the highest recorded since July of 1969. Widespread flooding occurred along the river with some of the worst damage in the Wellington and Lagrange areas where flash flooding occurred during the predawn hours of May 21st. Dozens of homes along the river were damaged and many roads had to be closed because of flooding.

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, May 2004

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: 5400917.