Flash Flood in Summit County, Ohio

The Stow/Silver Lakes region was significantly damaged by flash floods on the evening of May 12th. The Mayor reported that area raingages measured 4 to 4.5 inches of rainfall in an hour and a half between 930 pm and 1100 pm. The magnitude and intensity of the rainfall have a return frequency of a 500 year event. Infrastructure was overwhelmed by the runoff throughout the community. The hardest hit area was near State Route 91 and State Route 59 intersection where several businesses were damaged including a car dealership with 70 cars. The Holy Family Church and School sustained $3,000,000 in damages. Two homes suffered structural failures, one estimated as 4,000 square feet in size. There was a debris slide at the Silver Lakes Condominium Complex on SR 59 covering the parking lot with several feet of mud. North River Road sustained a complete washout. There was a sinkhole at Wilbur Drive covering half the road. A fire station and business was inundated with several inches of water on Hudson Drive. The Silver Lake Elementary Schools, Bolich Middle and High Schools were all damaged and closed. In all, at least 100 homes were damaged. A number of water rescues were conducted by no serious injuries reported. The flood was comparable to the 2003/2004 floods, but was expected to result in the worst monetary damages than either of those significant events.

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.