Flood in Ohio, September 8 to 14, 2004

Name: Flood in Ohio, September 8 to 14, 2004
Start: 2004-09-08T14:30
End: 2004-09-14T22:00
Location: Ohio

September 8 to 14, 2004 · NWS PBZ · 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $25,000
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 Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 8, 1:50 PM EST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 8, 1:50 PM EST, 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
250 PM EDT WED SEP 8 2004

.AVIATION...
IFR-OCCASIONALLY MVFR CONDITIONS INTO THIS EVENING THEN PREVAILING
IFR UNTIL MORNING THURS AS LOW GOES BY. WIND SHIFT FROM NORTHEAST TO
SOUTHWEST AS LOW GOES BY 09Z-15Z THURS.
&&

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)...
FRANCES REMNANTS PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS OF ABOUT AN INCH EVERY THREE
HOURS ACROSS EASTERN OHIO. MAXIMUM RAINFALL SINCE LAST NIGHT 4
INCHES IN NOBLE COUNTY NEAR BELLSVILLE. SEVERAL STORMS GAGE REPORTS
OVER 3 INCHES IN NOBLE, GUERNSEY, AND MUSKINGUM COUNTIES. LOTS OF
REPORTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ACROSS SWRN PA...NRN WV. RAIN HEAVY AT
TIMES WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE CENTER MOVES NORTH OF THE CWA BY
THURSDAY AFTERNOON. FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY
EVENING AS FLOODING PROBLEMS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE AFTER THE RAIN
ENDS. WSR-88D IN TROPICAL Z/R PRODUCING GOOD RAINFALL ESTIMATES IN
EASTERN OHIO.

AS THE STORM MOVES NORTH OF THE DISTRICT THURSDAY AFTERNOON THE RAIN
WILL BE ENDING. DRY WEATHER FOR FRIDAY AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE
MOVES IN LATE THURSDAY NIGHT.
&&

.LONG TERM (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING DRY WEATHER FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND
SATURDAY. WEAK COLD FRONT WILL BRING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR SUNDAY.
THE FRONT WILL MOVE RAPIDLY EAST AND A SECOND RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE
WILL BRING DRY WEATHER FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
&&

.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...FLOOD WATCH FOR ZONE MDZ001 THROUGH THURSDAY.
OH...FLOOD WATCH FOR ZONES OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069 THROUGH
     THURSDAY.
PA...FLOOD WATCH FOR ZONES PAZ007>009-013>016-020-022-023-
     029>032 THROUGH THURSDAY.
WV...FLOOD WATCH FOR ZONES WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041 THROUGH
     THURSDAY.
&&

AVIATION...08
SHORT TERM...06
LONG TERM...08

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 8, 4:46 AM EST, 9 hours 44 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
546 AM EDT WED SEP 8 2004

MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-090945-
ALLEGHENY PA-ARMSTRONG PA-BEAVER PA-BELMONT OH-BROOKE WV-BUTLER PA-
CARROLL OH-CLARION PA-COLUMBIANA OH-COSHOCTON OH-FAYETTE PA-
FOREST PA-GARRETT MD-GREENE PA-GUERNSEY OH-HANCOCK WV-HARRISON OH-
INDIANA PA-JEFFERSON PA-JEFFERSON OH-LAWRENCE PA-MARION WV-
MARSHALL WV-MERCER PA-MONONGALIA WV-MONROE OH-MUSKINGUM OH-NOBLE OH-
OHIO WV-PRESTON WV-TUCKER WV-TUSCARAWAS OH-VENANGO PA-WASHINGTON PA-
WESTMORELAND PA-WETZEL WV-
546 AM EDT WED SEP 8 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND
GARRETT COUNTY MARYLAND.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE UPPER OHIO VALLEY FOR THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AS THE AREA MAY GET HEAVY RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH
A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT AND THE REMNANTS OF FRANCES.  LOCATIONS
GETTING MORE THAN 2 OR 3 INCHES MAY HAVE FLOODING DEVELOP IN POOR
DRAINAGE AREAS AND ALONG SMALL STREAMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THURSDAY /DAY 2/ UNTIL 8 PM. A RIVER
FLOOD WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THURSDAY...AND FOR FRIDAY /DAY 3.
WIDESPREAD RAIN AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 3 INCHES MAY CAUSE FLOODING TO
OCCUR...WITH THE ALLEGHENY...OHIO...AND MUSKINGUM RIVER BASINS MOST
VULNERABLE TO GETTING SUCH RAIN AMOUNTS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER NET ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO REPORT EACH ADDITIONAL INCH OF
RAINFALL.

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, Guernsey

When: September 8, 2:30 PM EST to September 14, 10:00 PM EST
Where: Guernsey forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.052, -81.494 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rain from remnants of Hurricane Frances began late on the 7th. It ended the morning of the 9th, but flooding continued for days. By 330 PM EDT, flooding was county-wide. By 615 PM EDT, just south of Cambridge, I-70 was closed by flooding; so were routes 265 and 513. Many roads remained flooded 4 PM on the 10th. By 8 PM EDT on 11th, flooding was primarily confined to the northern and central parts of Guernsey County. Most small stream flooding ended by 2 am EDT on the 12th, but flooding on Wills Creek in Cambridge continued. Wills Creek rose to flood stage (15 ft) at 9 PM EDT on the 8th; crested 24.9 at 5 AM EDT 10th; and fell below flood stage 11 PM EDT on the 14th. The crest fell short of the record (26.9 ft).Total rain: 6.6" at Salt Fork Sewage Plant. (FRANCES)

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

Every storm in Ohio in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Ohio, September 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: 5422533.