Ohio, 2019

Coastal Flood in Ohio, April 19 to 20, 2019

April 19 to 20, 2019 · NWS CLE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 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. Lake Erie’s precipitation in April was over 35% above average, leading to above average net basin supplies.

The National Weather Service had issued lakeshore flood warnings for Lake Erie’s west end on April 20th because of the strong winds associated with a powerful storm tracking near Lake Huron. North winds around 25 mph on the 19th switched to the northeast on the 20th, pushing 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. Lake levels on the western basin rose between 60 and 72 inches above low water datum. The high lake levels, combined with 8 to 10 foot waves caused lakeshore additional flooding and erosion. 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 19, 8:49 PM EST, 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 19, 8:49 PM EST, 11 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 19, 3:17 PM EST, 5 hours 43 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 coastal flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Coastal Flood, Ottawa

When
April 19, 9:00 PM EST to April 20, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Ottawa forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
41.497, -82.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High water and flooding led to road closures in Ottawa and Sandusky counties on the 20th. Near downtown Port Clinton, high water caused closures at the end of Madison and Jefferson streets, north of Perry Street. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, there were closures at Ohio 53, near the Ottawa and Sandusky County line due to high water, and Ohio 523.

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

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 820907.