Thunderstorm Wind in Portage County, Ohio

Thunderstorm downburst winds in excess of 100 mph caused extensive damage across northern Portage County. A 105 mph wind gust was measured by an automated sensor in Aurora. Damages stretched from the county line west of Aurora across the northern tier of townships to the eastern end of the county. The damage was most concentrated in Aurora and adjacent Mantua Township. Thousands of trees were downed across the county. Many homes lost roofing or siding and several others were damaged by fallen trees. Many vehicles were reported damaged by flying debris or from fallen trees or limbs. Widespread power outages occurred with full restoration taking around five days. Bleachers at an athletic field at Aurora High School were overturned and destroyed. Several school districts in Portage County were closed on November 6th and some on the 7th because of power outages. Clean up from the storms took weeks.

A cold front moved across the Ohio Valley and southern Great Lakes on the afternoon of Sunday, November 5th, 2017. Unseasonably warm and humid air was in place across the region ahead of the front. The cold front gradually progressed across the Ohio Valley and thunderstorms initiated and swept east ahead of the front. The storms formed in a very strong wind field and allowed the storms to move very rapidly east at speeds of 60 to 80 mph. A large macroburst formed and swept east just south of Cleveland and produced winds in excess of 100 mph. The most concentrated damage stretched from southern Lorain County across Cuyahoga County and into northern Summit, northern Portage and southern Geauga Counties. A 105 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured at Aurora in Portage County. In addition to the damaging winds, at least 13 tornados were reported. Three of the tornadoes reached EF2 intensity with eight EF1 tornadoes and two EF0 tornadoes. Tens of thousands of trees were downed by these storms and widespread power outages occurred. In the Cleveland area alone, over 100,000 electric customers lost power. It took several days for power to be completely restored. Dozens of homes, buildings and barns were damaged or destroyed by the tornadoes.