Strong low pressure passed to the north of Lake Erie. An occluded front stretching south from the low moved across northwestern Pennsylvania during the late morning hours of March 5th.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Strong low pressure passed to the north of Lake Erie. An occluded front stretching south from the low moved across northwestern Pennsylvania during the late morning hours of March 5th. Very strong and gusty southwesterly winds occurred behind this front during the afternoon hours. Peak measured wind gusts include 51 mph at Meadville Airport (Crawford County) and 46 mph at Erie International Airport. Well over a dozen homes sustained varying amounts of damage. Dozens of utility poles and trees were were downed across the area. At the peak of the storm, several thousand customers were without electric service.
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.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 548 AM EST FRI MAR 5 2004 OHZ003-006>014-017>023-027>033-036>038-047-089-PAZ001>003-051247- 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 548 AM EST FRI MAR 5 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTION OF NORTHERN OHIO AND A PORTION OF NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY DEEP LOW PRESSURE MOVING NORTHEAST THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES WILL PRODUCE STRONG WINDS OVER THE AREA TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT. WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WILL OCCUR WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY DURING SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... LIMITED SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY OR EARLY TONIGHT. ADAMS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, March 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: 5386821, 5386822, 5386823.