Flash Flood — Lorain, Ohio

2005-07-16 · near Lorain, Lorain, Ohio

Event narrative

Thunderstorms dumped very heavy rains on the City of Lorain. The heaviest rains fell on the northeastern quadrant of the city where extensive flash flooding occurred. As much as three inches of rain fell between 3 and 4:30 pm as thunderstorms trained over the same small area. An elderly couple was killed around 4:15 pm after they drove their automobile into a flooded underpass on State Route 611 (Henderson Road) just a couple blocks east of State Route 57 (Broadway). The underpass filled with more than 12 feet of water in just a few minutes. Efforts to rescue the couple were unsuccessful. An automated rain gage just south of the underpass recorded 2.56 inches of rain between 3 and 4 pm and a total of 2.76 inches by 4:30 pm. A second underpass on State Route 57 (East 28th Street) was flooded by as much as ten feet of water. Much of Broadway Road was reported to be flowing "like a river" during the peak of the storm. Severe flooding was reported on most of the major thoroughfares in the northeastern portion of Lorain including Elyria Road, North Ridge Road, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Oberlin Avenue. Flood waters on Elyria Road were as much as six feet deep with two to three feet of flowing water reported at other locations. Dozens of vehicles became stranded in the flood waters and rescue efforts were severely hampered by the widespread nature of the flooding. Industrial areas south and west of the Black River were inundated by flood waters. Damage to homes and business in the City of Lorain and Sheffield Township from both flash flooding and basement flooding was extensive. At least 14 families were displaced by flooding. At least five City of Lorain police cars were destroyed by flooding. Flooding also was reported along Beaver Creek on the west side of Lorain. The creek left it's bank and damaged several homes.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5466511. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.