Flash Flood — Cuyahoga, Ohio

2014-05-12 to 2014-05-13 · near Westlake, Cuyahoga, Ohio

Event narrative

Between 800 and 1000 pm on the evening of May 12th rainfall observations in Olmsted Falls show 2.5-4.44 inches of rain. The rainfall rates were measured at 2.52 inches per hour. A dozen water rescues were conducted however no significant injuries were reported. In all nearly 1,000 homes were inundated in the towns of Olmsted Falls, North Olmsted, and Westlake. The City Hall in Olmsted Falls sustained significant flood damage to their basement. At the Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted 15 cars were submerged and a department store sustained significant damage. Dozens of roads and intersections were closed due to flooding with several feet of water. The major thruway Interstate 480 was closed around 1019 PM. Lewis Road in Olmsted Falls was damaged due to embankment failures.

Wider weather episode

On the evening of May 12th a warm front tracking north over Lake Erie, reversed itself and moved back inland over northern Ohio. An organized convective complex with embedded supercells developed over north-central Ohio. Two confirmed tornadoes, one in Medina and the other in Lorain Counties, developed within this supercells. The slow movement of the storms combined with intense rainfall rates produced destructive flash floods across dozens of communities.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.4525, -81.9445)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 510166. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.