During the early morning hours of July 19th a dissipating storm complex over Michigan reintensified as it moved over Lake Erie. These strong storms produced a narrow swath of 3 to 6 inches of rain fell over north central Ohio.
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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.
During the early morning hours of July 19th a dissipating storm complex over Michigan reintensified as it moved over Lake Erie. These strong storms produced a narrow swath of 3 to 6 inches of rain fell over north central Ohio. The rainfall rates of around two inches per hour produced significant flash flooding. The most severely effected areas were Cuyahoga, Summit, Medina, and Stark Counties. The flooding was caused by runoff from torrential rainfall that exceeded the capacity of the small streams and storm water systems of several communities. Water depth in the flooded areas was 1 to 3 feet deep, enough to fill basements and inundate the first floor of hundreds of homes and businesses. Despite being located on a hill, the Akron-Canton airport flooded due to the intensity of the rainfall.
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 Jul 19, 12:54 AM EST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 154 AM EDT TUE JUL 19 2011 .SYNOPSIS... A DISSIPATING COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY THEN HIGH PRESSURE WILL REBUILD OVER THE AREA LATER TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY BEFORE SHIFTING INTO THE SOUTHEAST FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... MID LVL THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUE TO ADVECT IN FROM THE LAKE MAINLY OVER EASTERN PORTIONS. THE STORMS ARE REMAINING BELOW SVR STRENGTH AND ARE MOVING AT ENOUGH OF A SPEED TO LIMIT FLOODING CONCERNS FOR THE TIME BEING...THOUGH RAINFALL RATES ARE EXCEDING AN INCH PER HOUR. THIS CONVECTION SHOULD CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS BEFORE WEAKENING AND SHIFTING EAST. MEANWHILE A COMPLEX ALONG A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN MI WILL MOVE SE...POTENTIALLY CLIPPING W PORTIONS BY MORNING. THE AIRMASS REMAINS MOIST WITH PW NEAR 2" THOUGH INSTABILITY IS LIMITED. THE SHOWERS WILL DISSIPATE TOWARDS DAYBREAK ESPECIALLY AS THE DAY BEGINS TO HEAT UP. THE AIRMASS WILL ALSO DRY OUT AGAIN DISSIPATING LINGERING SHOWERS IN THE MORNING. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH 6 PM WEDNESDAY/... EXPECT AIRMASS TO BECOME UNSTABLE AGAIN ON TUE. BEST GUESS IS THAT WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL PUSH SOUTH OF LAKESHORE COUNTIES FOR THE AFTERNOON SO THINK THE FOCUS FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE OVER THE SOUTHERN 2/3 OF THE CWA. THUS LOWER POPS IN ORDER FOR THE LAKESHORE COUNTIES. THERE MAY BE A FEW LINGERING CELLS TUE EVENING IN THE SOUTH...OTHERWISE EXPECT A DRY TUE NIGHT AND WED MORNING. QUESTION IS WHETHER CONVECTION CAN GET GOING OVER THE UPPER LAKES EARLY WED MORNING AND THEN DROP SE INTO OUR AREA LATER WED. THIS THREAT COMBINED WITH WEAK WARM ADVECTIVE LIFT AND AFTERNOON INSTABILITY SHOULD AT LEAST WARRANT A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE FORECAST. ADDITIONAL CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES COULD MAKE A RUN AT THE AREA LATE WED NIGHT THROUGH THU NIGHT BUT WITH SO MUCH UPPER RIDGING IN PLACE WILL KEEP THREAT TO LOW END SLIGHT CHANCE OR LESS. THE WEAK COLD FRONT WILL BRIEFLY STOP THE TEMP RISE FOR TUE INTO WED BUT HOT TEMPS LOOK ALMOST CERTAIN FOR THU ALONG WITH A HEAT ADVISORY. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... WARM AND HUMID WEATHER WILL CONTINUE DURING THE PERIOD. THIS WILL RESULT IN AT LEAST SMALL CHANCES FOR AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND STORMS EACH DAY. BEST CHANCES FOR RAIN DURING THE PERIOD APPEAR TO BE FRIDAY AND AGAIN MONDAY WITH WEAK FRONTAL SYSTEMS IN THE AREA. TEMPS DURING THE PERIOD WILL AVERAGE 10 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL WITH HIGH HUMIDIFIES MAKING IT FEEL EVEN WARMER. && .AVIATION /06Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... SECOND BATCH OF TSRA MOVING OFF OF LAKE ERIE MOVING SOUTH AT APPROXIMATELY 25KT. ONCE THESE STORMS PUSH SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING SHOULD BE DONE FOR THE DAY. DO EXPECT FOG TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT. COULD SEE SOME LIFR CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE WHERE THE HEAVIEST RAINS OCCURRED ACROSS NW OHIO. THERE IS STILL ANOTHER CONVECTIVE COMPLEX OVER WISCONSIN SO EXPECT TO SEE SOME CONVECTIVE DEBRIS CLOUD COVER DRIFT OVER THE REGION IN THE MORNING. THERE WILL BE A WEAK WIND SHIFT ACROSS THE REGION WITH WINDS ATTEMPTING TO COME AROUND TO THE NW AND MAYBE EVEN NORTH BY THE AFTERNOON. OUTLOOK...MAINLY VFR...POSSIBLE MVFR VISIBILITIES WITH HAZE/FOG EACH MORNING. && .MARINE... HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE IN CONTROL THROUGH THE ENTIRE PERIOD AS IT EXTENDS A RIDGE WEST FROM THE ATLANTIC COAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL SLIDE DOWN ACROSS THE LAKE FROM THE NORTH TONIGHT AND REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY OVER OHIO AND PENNSYLVANIA. THE FRONT WILL LIFT BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT WEDNESDAY. WINDS EXPECTED TO BE RATHER LIGHT ACROSS THE LAKE THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH WAVES RUNNING AROUND 2 FEET OR LESS. && .CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...NONE. PA...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...ADAMS NEAR TERM...JAMISON SHORT TERM...KUBINA LONG TERM...KUBINA AVIATION...DJB MARINE...LOMBARDY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 1007 PM EDT MON JUL 18 2011 OHZ003-006>014-017>023-027>033-036>038-047-089-PAZ001>003-200215- LUCAS-WOOD-OTTAWA-SANDUSKY-ERIE OH-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- CRAWFORD PA- 1007 PM EDT MON JUL 18 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHEAST OHIO...NORTHWEST OHIO AND NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS. LARGE HAIL IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REACH INTO THE LOW TO MID 90S ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. THIS COMBINED WITH HIGH HUMIDITY LEVELS COULD PUSH THE HEAT INDEX ABOVE 100 DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS FOR A LARGE PORTION OF NORTHERN OHIO AND NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. LEZ061-142>149-162>169-200215- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM RIPLEY TO BUFFALO NY- 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- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM MAUMEE BAY TO RENO BEACH- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM RENO BEACH TO THE ISLANDS- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM THE ISLANDS TO VERMILION- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM VERMILION TO AVON POINT- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM AVON POINT TO WILLOWICK- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM WILLOWICK TO GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE TO CONNEAUT- LAKE ERIE OPEN WATERS FROM CONNEAUT OH TO RIPLEY NY- 1007 PM EDT MON JUL 18 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR LAKE ERIE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS. LARGE HAIL IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 1150 PM EDT MON JUL 18 2011 OHZ012>014-089-190415- ASHTABULA INLAND-ASHTABULA LAKESHORE-GEAUGA-LAKE- 1150 PM EDT MON JUL 18 2011 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR LAKE...NORTHERN GEAUGA AND WESTERN ASHTABULA COUNTIES UNTIL 1215 AM EDT... AT 1144 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 14 MILES NORTHWEST OF PAINESVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. A WIND GUST UP TO 45 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THIS STORM MOVES ONSHORE. THIS STORM AFFECT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... PERRY...PAINESVILLE...MADISON...GRAND RIVER...FAIRPORT HARBOR AND NORTH PERRY.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH 105 AM EDT TUE JUL 19 2011 OHZ011>013-020-021-190545- CUYAHOGA-GEAUGA-LAKE-MEDINA-SUMMIT- 105 AM EDT TUE JUL 19 2011 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR CUYAHOGA...NORTHEASTERN MEDINA... NORTHERN SUMMIT...SOUTHWESTERN GEAUGA AND SOUTHWESTERN LAKE COUNTIES UNTIL 145 AM EDT... AT 101 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF EUCLID...OR 16 MILES NORTH OF CLEVELAND...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR... EUCLID AND 8 MILES NORTHEAST OF CLEVELAND BY 120 AM EDT. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS BY 125 AM EDT. SOLON...MACEDONIA AND 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SOUTH RUSSELL BY 140 AM. TWINSBURG...MACEDONIA AND 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF HUDSON BY 145 AM. TORRENTIAL RAIN AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. 21
The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 14 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:58 UTC.
6 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Rainfall amounts of 2 to 3.5 inches fell over Cleveland during a span of 60-90 minutes. Citywide flooding resulted as storm water systems were overwhelmed. Many roads including I 480 were flooded and closed for a brief period.
The maximum daily total precipitation that was reported by an official NWS cooperative weather observer was 4.84 inches at the Akron-Canton Airport (CAK). CAK Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) recorded the rain between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM of around 4 inches, with additional rainfall thereafter. This rainfall event frequency falls around a 500 year recurrence interval, or 0.2% chance of occurring in a single year. The heavy rain flooded the airport, shorting out the power supply. The automated rain gage failed at this point, but a backup rain gage observation supports the storm total. The basement of the airport flooded, along with the parking lots resulting in floating cars and significant damage to the vehicles. Flights were cancelled for half a day.
Lake enhanced storms moved off Lake Erie dropping 2 to 3 inches within 90 minutes over Cuyahoga County. Radar estimated as much as 4 inches over a stretch from southern Westlake into Olmsted Falls and east into Berea. As a result drainage systems were overwhelmed and roads rapidly filled with over 3 feet of water. A water rescue was conducted in North Olmsted near the mall.
Heavy rain fell over southern Cuyahoga County bringing 2 to 3 inches of rain over a 90 minute timeframe. In the Parma area the Big Creek overflowed its banks and flooded nearby businesses on Brookpark Road. Parma and Brooklyn Roads were also significantly flooded with two to three feet of water.
Torrential rainfall with rates around two inches per hour brought around 4 to 6 inches of rain to Summit County. The heaviest rain fell from Akron and to the north and western part of the county. The maximum daily total precipitation that was reported by an official NWS cooperative weather observer was 4.84 inches at the Akron-Canton Airport (CAK). CAK Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) recorded the rain between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM of around 4 inches, with additional rainfall thereafter. This rainfall event frequency falls around a 500 year recurrence interval, or 0.2% chance of occurring in a single year. The town of Copley also experienced significant flooding along the Pigeon Creek where the heaviest rain fell. An apartment complex was inundated and rescues were made. Hundreds of homes and businesses experienced basement flooding with a few first floors inundated as well. In the town of Green residents testified to a historic flood in Spade Road area.
The Nimishillen Creek, a tributary for the Tuscarawas River, reached major flood stage at the gage site in North Industry. For the Nimishillen Creek, the majority of the rainfall fell over the western branch. The west branch sub-watershed begins in Lake Township in northern Stark and near the Akron-Canton Regional Airport in the City of Green in Summit County. Almost five inches of rain fell over the headwaters of the west branch that night, all of which drains into North Canton. A major tributary to the west branch is Zimber Ditch which begins around the Akron-Canton Airport and also flows directly south paralleling I-77 into Jackson Township. Zimber Ditch has experienced more frequent flood problems over the last decade due to continued urban and suburban growth in the basin. Flooding along the Zimber Creek this event was responsible for a significant amount of the flood damage resulting in North Canton and downstream communities. The NWS forecast point for the Nimishillen Creek is located south of Canton in North Industry. By the time this site crested, the flooding was beginning to recede in Canton. By 9:00 AM the reported stage was of 11.14 FT and a flow over 6000 cfs, or major flood category. This was the fifth highest flow for this gage site since records began in 1921. Overal several hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded necessitating evacuations and moving residents into shelters which were opened earlier in response to the excessive heat the day before. A number of water rescues were conducted, but no reports of injuries or fatalities.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, July 2011
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: 332131, 332151, 332130, 332135, 332132, 332133.