As a surface low moved northeastward from Lake Ontario to far-southern Quebec during the evening of August 4th, a trailing cold front moved southeastward to the southern shore of Lake Erie by dusk before dissipating soon thereafter. Isolated showers and thunderstorms developed along this front.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
As a surface low moved northeastward from Lake Ontario to far-southern Quebec during the evening of August 4th, a trailing cold front moved southeastward to the southern shore of Lake Erie by dusk before dissipating soon thereafter. Isolated showers and thunderstorms developed along this front. Several funnel clouds and one confirmed waterspout accompanied the showers and thunderstorms. Behind the front, a high pressure ridge built over the eastern Great Lakes during the late evening of the 4th through 5th. This ridge then persisted over the Great Lakes through the 6th and 7th. Multiple waterspouts developed along land breeze convergence zones during the morning of the 5th and 7th, respectively.
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 Aug 4, 6:31 PM EST, 15 minutes earlier.
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</html>Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Cleveland OH 418 AM EDT Tue Aug 4 2020 OHZ010>012-089-050830- Lorain-Cuyahoga-Lake-Ashtabula Lakeshore- 418 AM EDT Tue Aug 4 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north central Ohio and northeast Ohio. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. There is a moderate risk for rip currents tonight as winds shift to the north and increase to 15 to 20 mph. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. LEZ061-142>149-162>169-050830- Lake Erie open waters from Ripley to Buffalo NY- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Maumee Bay to Reno Beach OH- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Reno Beach to The Islands OH- Lake Erie nearshore waters from The Islands to Vermilion OH- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Vermilion to Avon Point OH- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Avon Point to Willowick OH- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Willowick to Geneva-on-the Lake OH- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Geneva-on-the-Lake to Conneaut OH- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Conneaut OH to Ripley NY- Lake Erie open waters from Maumee Bay to Reno Beach OH- Lake Erie open waters from Reno Beach to The Islands OH- Lake Erie open waters from The Islands to Vermilion OH- Lake Erie open waters from Vermilion to Avon Point OH- Lake Erie open waters from Avon Point to Willowick OH- Lake Erie open waters from Willowick to Geneva-on-the-Lake OH- Lake Erie open waters from Geneva-on-the-Lake to Conneaut OH- Lake Erie open waters from Conneaut OH to Ripley NY- 418 AM EDT Tue Aug 4 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Lake Erie, eastern Lake Erie and western Lake Erie. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Waterspouts will be possible along a cold front this morning and near any showers that develop this afternoon into tonight as colder air flows across the lake. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. Cool air aloft may cause waterspouts to develop near showers that develop over the lake Wednesday morning. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. OHZ003-006>009-013-014-017>023-027>033-036>038-047-PAZ001>003-050830- Lucas-Wood-Ottawa-Sandusky-Erie-Geauga-Ashtabula Inland-Hancock- Seneca-Huron-Medina-Summit-Portage-Trumbull-Wyandot-Crawford- Richland-Ashland-Wayne-Stark-Mahoning-Marion-Morrow-Holmes-Knox- Northern Erie-Southern Erie- 418 AM EDT Tue Aug 4 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north central Ohio, northeast Ohio, northwest Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:46 UTC.
7 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.
Waterspout observed just offshore Fairport Harbor. Received multiple pictures and video recording.
Two waterspouts photographed about nine miles NNW of Sheffield Lake.
Facebook picture of waterspout several miles offshore Lorain (i.e. about six miles northwest of Sheffield Lake).
Two waterspouts photographed just north of Kelleys Island.
NWS employee photographed waterspout. Estimated location to be just offshore Avon Lake.
Video of waterspout about two miles north of Avon Lake.
Five more waterspouts were photographed about three miles north of Avon Lake at 11:00 AM, 11:04 AM, 11:12 AM, 11:18 AM, and 11:35 AM EDT, respectively.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Lake Erie in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather history
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 915078, 915977, 916084, 915978, 915979, 916085, 916086.