Flood — Marion, Ohio

2020-05-19 · near Big Is, Marion, Ohio

Event narrative

Two cars stalled in high water on Church Street in Marion. High water signs along route 4 in or near Marion. SR 203 flooded, east of SR4 and that it was flooding into Prospect.

Wider weather episode

A slow moving upper low over Illinois combined with a conveyor belt of humid air over Ohio supported widespread showers and thunderstorms over southern and central Ohio on the afternoon and evening of the 18th. The weather conditions supported not severe weather but heavy rain. Rain rates of 2 inches an hour or higher were observed with storms that trained, or repeated over the same areas. Overnight the low sank further south and drier air filtered into north and eastern counties which reduced their flood risk. However, it set up a boundary with warmer and moist air from Bowling Green to Mt. Vernon where moderate to heavy rain fell during the early morning hours of the 19th. A flood watch had been issued on the evening of the 18th through late morning on the 19th. The heaviest rainfall was measured around 3 to 4 inches in portions of Wood, Marion, Wyandot, Knox, and Morrow Counties. Several roads were flooded with mainly minor impacts. A flash flood occurred in Upper Sandusky as US 30 eastbound lanes were closed near Upper Sandusky after flood waters washed out a culvert. There were multiple vehicles stalled in the City of Marion due to high water. The heavy rain in Wood County resulted in major flooding on the Portage River at Woodville by the 20th. The high river levels combined with high lake levels at the mouth to produce additional flooding in areas downstream that don't typically flood.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.6127, -83.1893)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 890742. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.