A strong area of low pressure over southern Lower Michigan during the evening hours of February 16th passed to the north of Lake Erie during the early morning hours of the 17th. A cold front trailing this low moved into Northwest Ohio around midnight on the 17th and then quickly swept east across the remainder of the state.
Every event with a place to put it; 24 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.
A strong area of low pressure over southern Lower Michigan during the evening hours of February 16th passed to the north of Lake Erie during the early morning hours of the 17th. A cold front trailing this low moved into Northwest Ohio around midnight on the 17th and then quickly swept east across the remainder of the state. Gusty westerly winds behind this front downed trees and large limbs throughout northern Ohio. Several homes and buildings also sustained damage from the gusty winds. A peak gust of 67 mph was measured at the Lorain Harbor Lighthouse (Lorain County). Other peak gusts included: 56 mph at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport (Cuyahoga County); 55 mph at the Ashtabula County Airport; 54 mph at the Wayne County Airport; 53 mph at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport (Summit County) and 52 mph at Cleveland Hopkins Airport (Cuyahoga County). Scattered power outages were reported across most of northern Ohio.
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 Feb 16, 11:40 PM EST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OHIO 1140 PM EST THU FEB 16 2006 .AVIATION(06Z-06Z)... STRONG CDFNT MOVING INTO EXTEME NW OH ATTM. SHOULD BE ON TOLEDO AT 06Z MOVING EAST THROUGH CLE ARND 08-09Z AND ERIE BY 11Z. GENERALLY VFR CIGS AHEAD OF FNT WITH OCNL MVFR VSBY IN SHOWERS. CIGS WILL LOWER TO MVFR SHORTLY AFTER FRONT MOVES THROUGH AND MAY OCCASIONALY DROP TO IFR FOR FEW HOURS ESPECIALLY WESTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS. WINDS WILL GUST TO AROUND 40-45KT AROUND FROPA AND FOR FEW HOURS AFTERWARDS...THEN GUST AROUND 30KT DURING MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. EXPECT CIGS TO IMPROVE TO VFR LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON AS THE LOW LIFTS OUT AND DRIER AIR WORKS IN...THOUGH EXTREME NERN AREAS MAY HOLD ONTO THE MVFR CIGS LONGER WITH THE COLD WESTERLY FLOW ACROS THE LERI. HAVE SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS ERI AREA IN MORNING THEN AGAIN LATE IN PERIOD WITH LAKE EFFECT. && .SHORT TERM UPDATE... COLD FRONT APPROACHING NORTHWEST OHIO. THIS FRONT WILL BEGIN TO ACCELERATE OVERNIGHT AND BE THROUGH THE CWA BY 12Z. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS STILL POSSIBLE. HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. CURRENT WIND GUSTS ARE 30 TO 40 MPH BUT AS LOW DEEPENS BETWEEN NOW AND ABOUT 11Z...GUSTS SHOULD BECOME HIGHER RIGHT WITH AND FOR A FEW HOURS BEHIND THE FRONT. NAM BUFKIT SHOWING THE BEST TIME FRAME TO BE BETWEEN 8Z-14Z WEST AND 11Z-17Z EAST. WINDS TO DROP OFF FOR THE AFTERNOON. AS FAR AS TEMPERATURES GO...ENTIRE CWA HOLDING IN THE UPPER 50S WITH A FEW PLACES RISING AND HITTING 60+ DEGREES. THAT WILL BE QUICKLY REPLACED DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE OVERNIGHT AS 30 ENCOMPASS ALL OF NW IN. WILL LEAVE HOURLY TEMP GRIDS ALONE...BUT WILL ATTEMPT TO WORD THE ZONES...POSSIBLY WORKING INTO THE FRIDAY PERIOD...TO DESCRIBE TEMPS DROPPING THROUGH MID MORNING BEFORE BECOMING STEADY FOR MIDDAY. BASICALLY AT 6AM AND THE END OF THE TONIGHT PERIOD EXPECT TEMPS AROUND 30...BUT DEFINITELY UPPER 20S BY MID MORNING. UPDATE TO FORECAST WILL BE OUT SOON. && .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY)... METEOROLOGICAL MESS SETTING UP FOR THE NEXT 48 HOURS AS THE STORM SYSTEM RAPIDLY DEEPENING AS IT MOVES NORTHEAST ALONG THE QUASI STATIONARY FRONT TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING. FORECAST AREA WILL REMAIN IN THE WARM SECTOR FOR THE NEXT 15 HOURS OR SO AND THEN THE ICE BOX DOOR OPENS WIDE TO ALLOW STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION TO TAKE PLACE. I LIKE THE GFS RUN AS IT HAS A BETTER HANDLE ON THE SURFACE LOW POSITION AT THE INITIALIZATION TIME OVER THE NAM MODEL. 850 MB WINDS DROPPED OFF SLIGHTLY FROM THE 00Z RUN OF THE GFS MODEL LAST NIGHT WITH BETWEEN 70 AND 80 KNOTS OF WIND. EXPECTING GUSTY WINDS TO MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. WINDS ARE ALREADY UP TO 30 KNOTS IN THE SOUTHWEST AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. SOME GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING HIGH WIND WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT OVERNIGHT. I WILL DROP TEMPERATURES A DEGREE OR TWO AFTER SUNSET THIS EVENING AND WITH STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS CONTINUING I DONT ANTICIPATE TEMPERATURES TO DROP DURING THE NIGHT UNTIL FRONTAL PASSAGE. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL TONIGHT FOR THUNDERSTORMS THAT COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS IN THE WESTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. TOTAL TOTALS INCREASE TO THE LOWER 50S ACROSS THE AREA AND THE SCARY PART IS HELICITY VALUES INCREASE TO 408 BASED ON MODEL SOUNDINGS. CONVECTIVE OUTLOOKS HAVE BEEN SLOWLY PROGRESSING EAST WITH TIME AND I WOULD EXPECT THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL EXTEND FURTHER EAST THROUGH THE NIGHT. ONCE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA I AM EXPECTING TEMPERATURES TO DROP SEVERAL DEGREES IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME LATE TONIGHT. SHOWERS WILL GIVE WAY TO SNOW SHOWER ACTIVITY IN THE STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION. WILL MENTION A HALF AN INCH OR LESS ACCUMULATION IN THE WEST AS WRAP AROUND MOISTURE OCCURS BUT THEN DRY SLOTTING OCCURS OVER THE EASTERN PORTIONS DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS BEFORE SNOW HAS A CHANCE TO ACCUMULATE MUCH. SOME LAKE EFFECT WILL START TO DEVELOP FRIDAY WITH BEST CHANCE OCCURRING FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. MODERATE LAKE INDUCED INSTABILITY DEVELOPS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY WITH BEST SNOW GROWTH POTENTIAL DESCENDING DOWN INTO THE 70 TO 80 PERCENT RELATIVE HUMIDITY FIELD. INVERSION RISES TO ABOVE 8000 FEET FRIDAY NIGHT AS WELL WITH STRONG UPWARD VERTICAL VELOCITIES AND PVA ROTATING SOUTH INTO THE AREA. FLOW BECOMES WELL ALIGNED FROM ABOUT 290 TO 320 DEGREES AND POTENTIAL EXISTS TO MEET LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING CRITERIA. THEREFORE...WILL GO AHEAD AND ISSUE A LAKE EFFECT SNOW WATCH FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES FROM RISING TOO MUCH AFTER TONIGHT. SATURDAY LOOKS LIKE HIGHS WILL NOT GET OUT OF THE TEENS EVEN THOUGH 850 TEMPERATURES INDICATE HIGHS IN THE 20S. REASON BEING IS ARCTIC AIR MASS WILL BE SHALLOW ENOUGH THAT MODELS WILL NOT GET A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF THE SURFACE COLD AIR. && .LONG TERM (SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY)... HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD SLOWLY EAST TOWARD THE FORECAST AREA WITH STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION TAKING PLACE. LAKE EFFECT SHOULD CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY NIGHT AS BEST SNOW GROWTH POTENTIAL AND UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION MERGE DURING THE SATURDAY NIGHT PERIOD. A CHANCE OF FLURRIES CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE REST OF THE AREA. INVERSION DROPS BY SATURDAY NIGHT SQUASHING LAKE EFFECT DOWN TO MINIMAL SNOW SHOWER ACTIVITY BY SUNDAY. THE HIGH WILL BUILD EAST ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. WEAK TROUGH SWINGS THROUGH THE AREA ON MONDAY WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW SHOWER ACTIVITY POSSIBLE FOLLOWED BY MORE HIGH PRESSURE. CENTERS WILL MOVE TO THE SOUTH OF THE AREA WITH COLD AIR ADVECTION TAKING PLACE. THEN...AS HIGH MOVES EAST OF THE AREA...WARM AIR ADVECTION TAKES PLACE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY AHEAD OF THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER TEXAS AND MOVE NORTHEAST TO KENTUCKY BY THURSDAY. WILL GO WITH MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES FIRST HALF OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD WITH A GRADUAL WARMING TREND. GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES LOOK REASONABLE CONSIDERING COLD 850 MB TEMPERATURES PROGGED TO PUSH INTO THE AREA AND COLD ARCTIC AIR MASS DIVING SOUTHEAST. && .CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .OH...HIGH WIND WARNING 7 PM TONIGHT TO NOON FRIDAY. GALE WARNING LERI 3 AM FRI TO 4 PM FRI. LAKE EFFECT SNOW WATCH LAKE...GEAUGA... AND ASHTABULA COUNTIES 7 PM FRIDAY THROUGH 4 PM SATURDAY. LOW WATER STATEMENT WESTERN BASIN LERI. .PA...HIGH WIND WARNING 7 PM TONIGHT TO NOON FRIDAY. GALE WARNING LERI 3 AM FRI TO 4 PM FRI. LAKE EFFECT SNOW WATCH ERIE AND CRAWFORD COUNTIES 7 PM FRIDAY THROUGH 4 PM SATURDAY. && SHORT TERM...LOMBARDY/OUDEMAN LONG TERM...LOMBARDY AVIATION...WCR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 211 PM EST THU FEB 16 2006 OHZ003-006>014-017>023-027>033-036>038-047-089-PAZ001>003-171915- LUCAS-WOOD-OTTAWA-SANDUSKY-ERIE-LORAIN-CUYAHOGA-LAKE-GEAUGA- ASHTABULA INLAND-HANCOCK-SENECA-HURON-MEDINA-SUMMIT-PORTAGE- TRUMBULL-WYANDOT-CRAWFORD-RICHLAND-ASHLAND-WAYNE-STARK-MAHONING- MARION-MORROW-HOLMES-KNOX-ASHTABULA LAKESHORE-NORTHERN ERIE- SOUTHERN ERIE- 211 PM EST THU FEB 16 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHEAST OHIO...NORTHWEST OHIO AND NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A SQUALL LINE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE REGION LATE TONIGHT. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS. HAIL AND AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE. THE SQUALL LINE MAY WEAKEN AS IT MOVES INTO EASTERN OHIO AND NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA. A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SQUALL LINE WILL MOVE RAPIDLY THROUGH THE AREA LATE TONIGHT WITH WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 50 AND 60 MPH. SOME TREES...LIMBS MAY COME DOWN AND EVEN SOME POWER OUTAGES MAY OCCUR. A HIGH WIND WARNING WILL BE IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THURSDAY UNTIL NOON ON FRIDAY. THE WINDS WILL DECREASE BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING WILL BE IN EFFECT FRIDAY MORNING. COLD TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN FOR THE WEEKEND. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE TEENS SATURDAY AND 20S SUNDAY WITH LOWS GENERALLY 5 TO 15. EVEN WITH DIMINISHING WINDS...WIND CHILLS WILL DROP TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. SOME LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS MAY AFFECT THE SNOW BELT FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE TONIGHT. LEZ142>149-162>169-171915- MAUMEE BAY TO RENO BEACH OH-RENO BEACH TO THE ISLANDS OH- THE ISLANDS TO VERMILION OH-VERMILION TO AVON POINT OH- AVON POINT TO WILLOWICK OH-WILLOWICK TO GENEVA-ON-THE LAKE OH- GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE TO CONNEAUT OH-CONNEAUT OH TO RIPLEY NY- MAUMEE BAY OH TO RENO BEACH OH BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE- RENO BEACH TO THE ISLANDS OH BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE- THE ISLANDS TO VERMILION OH BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE- VERMILION TO AVON POINT OH BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE- AVON POINT TO WILLOWICK OH BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE- WILLOWICK TO GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE OH BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE-GENEVA-ON- THE-LAKE TO CONNEAUT OH BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE- CONNEAUT OH TO RIPLEY NY BEYOND 5 NM OF SHORE- 211 PM EST THU FEB 16 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF LAKE ERIE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT GALE WARNING IS EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE AND THUNDERSTORMS WINDS MAY GUST IN EXCESS OF 50 KNOTS. LOW WATER MAY ALSO OCCUR ON THE WEST END OF LAKE ERIE LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY GALE WARNING IS EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. LOW WATER MAY ALSO OCCUR ON THE WEST END OF LAKE ERIE FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. KIELTYKA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
24 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, February 2006
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: 5492374, 5492375, 5492376, 5492377, 5492378, 5492429, 5492430, 5492431, 5492432, 5492433, 5492434, 5492435, 5492436, 5492437, 5492438, 5492439, 5492440, 5492441, 5492442, 5492443, 5492444, 5492445, 5492446, 5492447.