Flood — Summit, Ohio

2011-02-28 · near Twinsburg, Summit, Ohio

Event narrative

Heavy rain and rapid snow melt led to a rapid rise in the Cuyahoga River in Summit County which reached moderate flood stage at Old Portage. One to two inches of rainfall fell during the overnight hours of the 27th into the 28th, and combined with six to ten inches of heavy snow was on the ground resulted in rapid runoff. Several people had be rescued from homes and vehicles as the water came up. One rescue worker suffered hypothermia rescuing a motorists floating away in flood waters in Northfield Center.

Wider weather episode

A strong area of low pressure moved northeast across Ohio on February 28th. Heavy rain fell over northern Ohio in association with this low. Rainfall totals of between one and three inches were reported. Up to ten inches of heavy snow was one the ground at daybreak on the 27th. Temperatures warmed into the 40s on the 27th and eventually reached the 50s on the 28th. This resulted in a rapid snow melt that released up to another inch of liquid equivalent rainfall. The snow melt and the rain combined to create widespread flooding. Rapid rises in area streams and rivers occurred with near record crests eventually reported at some river locations. Some flash flooding was also reported. A woman was killed near Norwalk after her car was swept off of the road by flood waters. Dozens of water rescues were reported and hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes. Dozens of roads had be closed because of flooding and washouts were reported in several counties. Over a thousand homes were damaged by flooding. Damage estimates from northern Ohio topped $30 million for this event.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.3531, -81.4320)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 287046. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.