Coastal Flood in Ohio, April 11, 2019

Name: Coastal Flood in Ohio, April 11, 2019
Start: 2019-04-11T08:00
End: 2019-04-11T23:00
Location: Ohio

April 11, 2019 · NWS CLE · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: $120,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 happened

The episode as NWS CLE wrote it up.

By the middle of April Lake Erie was observing water levels 2 feet above normal, and rising. Lake Erie is in the midst of its seasonal rise and its mean monthly level surged 7 inches upward from March to April. The lake’s April monthly mean level was 2 inches above its level of a year ago, and 6 inches below its record high.

The National Weather Service had issued lakeshore flood warnings for Lake Erie’s west end on April 11th because of the strong winds associated with a powerful storm tracking west of the Toledo area. Northeast winds around 25 mph with gusts of 30 to 35 mph pushed lake water on shore. Lake Erie water levels were well above normal having risen eight inches higher than March, with water levels 28.3 inches above average. This resulted in widespread minor to moderate coastal impacts to the region including several flooded marinas, businesses in Port Clinton, road closures, and erosion impacts to the beachfront.

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 Cleveland, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 11, 6:41 AM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 11, 6:41 AM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 11, 5:08 AM EST, 2 hours 52 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 coastal flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Coastal Flood, Ottawa

When: April 11, 8:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Ottawa forecast zone
Property damage: $35,000
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 41.497, -82.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Port Clinton was one of the hardest hit during the coastal flood event of April 11. Areas that were impacted by the flooding include businesses on Madison, Perry, and Jefferson Streets. The NOS water level gage at Marblehead reported a peak water level of 574.98 feet at 2 PM April 11. This is approximately 6 feet above normal mainly due to breakers and strong sustained northeast winds. As water flooded past sidewalks and pavement in downtown Port Clinton, businesses in the area of Madison and Perry closed down for the day. Beach erosion worsened during the event.

Coastal Flood, Lucas

When: April 11, 8:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Lucas forecast zone
Property damage: $85,000
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 41.684, -83.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The high water from Lake Erie affected the Maumee River into downtown Toledo on April 11. The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority posted video of river water washing over the wharf in front of its offices next to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge. Several marinas and port areas were impacted by flood waters with several boats inundated. The NOS water level gage at Toledo reported a peak water level of 576.76 feet around 2 PM on April 11. This is approximately 7.5 feet above normal.

What these are

Coastal Flood: Flooding of coastal land by the sea, from storm surge, onshore wind or high tides.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Ohio in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in Ohio, April 2019

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 820764, 820765.