Thunderstorm Wind — Summit, Ohio

2025-05-16 · near Portage Lakes, Summit, Ohio

Event narrative

OH Route 619, just west of State Street, became impassable due to downed trees in Portage Lakes.

Wider weather episode

At the surface, an occluded low wobbled east-northeastward from southeastern ND to central Lake Superior during the very early morning of the 16th through the very early morning of the 17th. Accordingly, a warm front swept northeastward across northeast OH during the early morning of the 16th and then a cold front swept generally southeastward across northern OH during the early morning through late morning of the 16th. The same front then retreated northward as a warm front across northern Ohio during the evening of the 16th as a separate low along the front moved generally northeastward from the Lower MO Valley to southwestern Lower MI.

During the early morning of the 16th, a compact line of multicell thunderstorms generated isolated straight-line wind damage and hail as large as quarters as the storms persisted eastward amidst moderate MUCAPE and effective bulk shear, respectively. These storms occurred within the warm and moist sector between the warm and cold fronts. Later on the 16th, a line of multicell showers and thunderstorms persisted generally east-northeastward across portions of northern OH as the storms encountered moderate to strong MUCAPE and effective bulk shear, respectively, along and in vicinity of the second surface warm front. This convection generated periodic straight-line wind damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.9809, -81.5485)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1283538. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.