Storm Records: Lake Erie
Every storm the National Weather Service has filed in Lake Erie: its floods, heat, cold, winter storms, hail, wind, lightning and tornadoes, year by year and county by county, each episode with its narrative.
The worst in Lake Erie on the map
The deadliest and costliest episodes on record here, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 2,614
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- $1.0 million
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.
Every year
Tap a year for every episode in it.
Deaths each year
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Thunderstorm Wind | 2,280 | 0 | 0 | $36,000 |
| Waterspout | 269 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marine Hail | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marine High Wind | 28 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marine Strong Wind | 3 | 3 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| Marine Dense Fog | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The deadliest
- Marine Strong Wind in Lake Erie, July 6, 2024At the surface, a cold front drifted eastward from near Long Point, ON and the OH/PA border to western NY and western PA as the parent, occluded low drifted eastward across northern Lake Huron between 8 AM and 11 AM EDT on July 6th.
- Marine Strong Wind in Lake Erie, November 5, 2022A deepening and occluded surface low moved north-northeastward from eastern Iowa to northern Wisconsin during the late morning through early evening of the 5th.
- Marine Strong Wind in Lake Erie, July 11, 2020A surface low moved eastward across Lake Ontario and extended a trough over Lake Erie during the late morning through early evening of the 11th.
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Erie, September 28, 2009A thunderstorm crossing Lake Erie produced winds gusting to 51 knots at the Buffalo Coast Guard Station.
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Erie, August 16, 2003
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Erie, April 14, 2019A warm front lifted northward across the region during the afternoon of April 14th. A strong area of low pressure moved from southwest Ohio through north central Ohio during the afternoon.
- Marine Hail in Lake Erie, July 15, 2024A strong upper-level trough and mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) crossed western and central New York during the afternoon on July 15, 2024. Timing with the MCV corresponded with favorable daytime heating and partly to mostly sunny skies ahead of the system.
The costliest
Marine zones
The places filed most often, as the offices named them.
| Marine zone | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon Point to Willowick Oh zone | 203 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| Dunkirk to Buffalo Ny zone | 156 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 |
| Michigan Waters of Lake Erie From Detroit River to North Cape Mi zone | 112 | 0 | 0 | |
| The Islands to Vermilion Oh marine | 102 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le the Islands to Vermilion Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 100 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vermilion to Avon Point Oh marine | 97 | 0 | 0 | |
| Avon Point to Willowick Oh marine | 97 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Vermilion to Avon Pt Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 97 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Avon Pt to Willowick Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 96 | 0 | 0 | |
| Conneaut Oh to Ripley Ny zone | 96 | 0 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| Reno Beach to the Islands Oh zone | 92 | 0 | 0 | |
| Reno Beach to the Islands Oh marine | 91 | 0 | 0 | |
| The Islands to Vermilion Oh zone | 91 | 0 | 0 | |
| Willowick to Geneva on the Lake Oh marine | 89 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Willowick to Geneva on the Lake Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 88 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Reno Beach to the Islands Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 88 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vermilion to Avon Point Oh zone | 88 | 1 | 0 | |
| Willowick to Geneva-On-The-Lake Oh zone | 78 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ripley to Dunkirk Ny zone | 76 | 0 | 0 | |
| Maumee Bay to Reno Beach Oh zone | 71 | 0 | 0 | |
| Conneaut Oh to Ripley Ny marine | 70 | 0 | 0 | |
| Geneva on the Lake Oh to Conneaut Oh marine | 68 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Conneaut Oh to Ripley Ny Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 67 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Geneva on the Lake to Conneaut Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 63 | 0 | 0 | |
| Maumee Bay to Reno Beach Oh marine | 63 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Detroit R Lt to Reno Beach Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 60 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mi Waters of Lake Erie marine | 55 | 0 | 0 | |
| Upper Niagara River zone | 27 | 0 | 0 | $500 |
| Dunkirk to Buffalo Ny marine | 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ripley to Dunkirk Ny marine | 14 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| The Islands to Vermilion Oh Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Avon Point to Willowick Oh Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Detroit River Light to Maumee Bay Oh to Reno Beach Oh Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Geneva-On-The-Lake Oh to Conneaut Oh zone | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mi Waters of Lake Erie zone | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ripley to Buffalo Ny 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Buffalo Hbr and Upr Niagara R marine | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Buffalo Harbor and the Upper Niagara River zone | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Willowick to Geneva-On-The-Lake Oh Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vermilion to Avon Point Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Reno Beach to the Islands Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border zone | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Reno Beach to the Islands Oh Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Conneaut Oh to Ripley Ny Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Willowick to Geneva on the Lake Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Avon Pt to Willowick Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Vermilion to Avon Pt Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le the Islands to Vermilion Oh Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Conneaut Oh to Ripley Ny Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Willowick to Geneva on the Lake Oh zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Ripley to Buffalo Ny 5nm Offshore to Intl Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Buffalo Harbor and Upper Niagara River zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Geneva-On-The-Lake to Conneaut Oh Beyond 5nm to Us/Canadian Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Every year
More
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 2026-09-24.