Flash Flood — Lorain, Ohio

2007-08-07 · near Lorain, Lorain, Ohio

Event narrative

Heavy rain developed across the county during the morning hours of the 7th, and flash flooding quickly developed across northern portions of Lorain County. In the City of Lorain, one report described a man driving down East 28th Street and quickly turning around to avoid becoming stranded in the high water. Shortly after he turned around, he saw cars that continued down the street begin to float in the high water. Floodwaters quickly affected other streets throughout the City of Lorain with numerous reports of stranded cars and vehicle rescues. With conditions deteriorating, roads and underpasses throughout the city were closed. Heavy rainfall also caused flooding of a nursing home and damage to at least forty homes.

In Sheffield Township several rescues were performed on people stranded in the quickly rising waters. Newspaper articles indicate that flooding of buildings also took place in Avon and Vermilion.

Rainfall reports in Lorain County include 1.66 inches at the Lorain-Elyria Airport and 3.77 inches in Sheffield Lake.

Wider weather episode

A frontal boundary stretched from west to east across northern Ohio during the early morning hours of the 7th. This frontal boundary was associated with low pressure centered over the Plains. Through the day on the 7th, this boundary moved north allowing a warm and humid airmass to set up over the region. Thunderstorms developed across the area during the morning hours of the 7th, and again during the afternoon and evening hours.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.4700, -82.1800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 54902. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.