An area of strong low pressure moved east across the region on October 30th. A cold front trailing the low moved across northwestern Ohio during the middle part of the day.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS CLE wrote it up.
An area of strong low pressure moved east across the region on October 30th. A cold front trailing the low moved across northwestern Ohio during the middle part of the day. Gusty southwest winds behind the front downed many trees and damaged several vehicles and buildings. Peak measured wind gusts included: 58 mph at Toledo Express Airport (Lucas County); 55 mph at Toledo Metcalf Airport (Ottawa County) and 53 mph at the Findlay Airport (Hancock County).
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 Oct 30, 9:34 AM EST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OHIO 1034 AM EDT SAT OCT 30 2004 .SHORT TERM UPDATED (THIS AFTERNOON) FRONT ENTERING NORTHWEST OHIO AND IS MARKED BY THE CLEARING. TIMING OF THE CLEARING WITH THE FRONT WILL MAKE TO NEAR SANDUSKY TO MANSFIELD BY NOON AND FROM FAIRPORT HARBOR TO NEAR AKRON CANTON BY 2PM AND NORTHWEST PENNYSLVANIA CLOSE TO 4PM. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP IN ADVANCE OF THE FRONT. WINDS WERE GUSTING AT TIMES FROM 30 TO 40 MPH. SO WILL KEEP THE WIND ADVISORY GOING AS REMAIN GUSTY WELL TO THE WEST OF THE FORECAST AREA. && .SHORT TERM (TODAY AND TONIGHT)... SFC LOW OVR MN THIS MORNING WITH WRMFNT NOW NE OF THE CWA. ASOCD CDFNT MOVG INTO IL AND BY 18Z THIS AFTN SHOULD BE NR A KCLE-KMFD LN. MAIN PROB TDA WILL BE WINDS. BASED ON NEW ETA RUN BLV IT WILL TAKE A FEW HOURS FOR WINDS TO INCR TDA SO WILL WORD IN ZONES AS WINDS INCREASING. BEST CHC FOR ADVSRY CRITERIA WINDS WILL COME IN THE AFTN AND EARLY EVG. ETA 850MB WINDS GO TO 45KTS WHILE GFS REACHES 55KTS BY 00Z THIS EVG JUST AS COLD ADVN INCREASES. THIS WILL EXTEND ADVSRY INTO THE EVG/TIL MIDNIGHT. AS FOR PCPN... CONVECTION BREAKING OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT IN NRN IND EARLY THIS MORNG WITH SHWRS/TSTMS ALSO ALONG A LINE JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT. BEHIND THE CDFNT CLEARING EVIDENT ON SAT PIX WHICH MATCHES UP WELL WITH DRYG DEPICTED ON ETA/GFS. AS IS TYPICAL IN THE WARM SECTOR...THERE IS FCST PLENTY OF MSTR ACRS THE AREA BUT ALSO XPC SOME SS AS WELL SO WILL GO THE VARIABLE CLOUDINESS MOST AREAS ALTHOUGH IN THE WEST WILL GO WITH THE TREND OF MC FOLLOWED BY PC THIS AFTN. WILL GO WITH LKLY POPS ALL AREAS TDA ALTHOUGH BEST CHC WILL BE THRU THE MORNG TO ERY AFTN. WILL KP CHC POPS IN FOR THE EVG MOST AREAS AND LKLY NWRN PA ALTHOUGH PCPN SHOULD BE ENDING QUICKLY XPC LEE OF THE LAKE WHERE COLD WLY FLOW OVR LAKE WILL CONT PSBLTY OF SHWRS. && .LONG TERM (SUN THRU FRI)... FAIRLY PROGRESSIVE PATTERN NEXT WEEK. UPR LOW DROPPING INTO SW MON THEN MOVG ENE THRU OH VLY MOVG TO E CST THU WHILE AT SFC FNTL BNDRY NEAR OR JUST S AND SE OH VLY ERY PD MOVG TO ARND NJ CST THU WITH PSBL CDFNT MOVG THRU THEN FRI. HAVE CHC OR LIKELY POPS FOR MON AFTN THRU WED. AS THIS FIRST FNT MOVS OFF TO E WED NGT AND THU WENT WITH DRY WX...THEN LOW CHC POPS ON FRI WITH WK CDFNT MOVG INTO THE AREA. && .AVIATION (06Z-06Z)... CIGS & VSBYS CONT TO IMPROVE. CONDS MNLY VFR WITH A FEW MVFR AREAS DUE TO FOG. PRE CDFNTL ACTIVTY SHRA/TSTMS DVLPG OVR IN SPRDG NE AND MAY MOV INTO THE WRN PTNS OF THE CWA THIS MRNG. INCRSG SW WINDS TO 30 KT GUSTS PSBL AFT 18Z. && .CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES. OH...WIND ADV THROUGH MIDNIGHT. GALE LERI. PA...WIND ADV THROUGH MIDNIGHT. GALE LERI. SHORT TERM...THOMPSON/TK LONG TERM...WCR AVIATION...20
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 638 AM EDT SAT OCT 30 2004 OHZ003-006>014-017>023-027>033-036>038-047-089-PAZ001>003-311038- ASHLAND OH-ASHTABULA INLAND OH-ASHTABULA LAKESHORE OH-CRAWFORD PA- CRAWFORD OH-CUYAHOGA OH-ERIE OH-GEAUGA OH-HANCOCK OH-HOLMES OH- HURON OH-KNOX OH-LAKE OH-LORAIN OH-LUCAS OH-MAHONING OH-MARION OH- MEDINA OH-MORROW OH-NORTHERN ERIE PA-OTTAWA OH-PORTAGE OH- RICHLAND OH-SANDUSKY OH-SENECA OH-SOUTHERN ERIE PA-STARK OH- SUMMIT OH-TRUMBULL OH-WAYNE OH-WOOD OH-WYANDOT OH- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...AKRON...ASHLAND...ASHTABULA... BOWLING GREEN...BUCYRUS...CANTON...CHARDON...CLEVELAND...ELYRIA... ERIE...FINDLAY...FOSTORIA...FREMONT...JEFFERSON...LORAIN... MANSFIELD...MARION...MEADVILLE...MEDINA...MILLERSBURG... MOUNT GILEAD...MOUNT VERNON...NORWALK...PAINESVILLE...PORT CLINTON... RAVENNA...SANDUSKY...TIFFIN...TOLEDO...UPPER SANDUSKY...WARREN... WOOSTER AND YOUNGSTOWN 638 AM EDT SAT OCT 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTION OF NORTHERN OHIO AND A PORTION OF NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS OHIO AND NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA TODAY AND PRODUCE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE. ALSO STRONG WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT POSSIBLY GUSTING TO OVER 45 MPH AT TIMES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, October 2004
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: 5427371, 5427372, 5427373, 5427374, 5427375.