Severe Thunderstorms Pound North Central Ohio with Damaging Winds
Severe thunderstorms battered north central Ohio Thursday evening, bringing 60 mph winds and hail as warnings covered 18 counties.
SANDUSKY, OHIO — A series of severe thunderstorms swept across north central Ohio on Thursday evening, prompting multiple warnings from the National Weather Service as dangerous winds and hail threatened communities from the Lake Erie shoreline inland.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland issued its first severe thunderstorm warning at 5:20 PM EDT for Ottawa and Erie counties, tracking storms that began near Kelleys Island and moved southeast at 30 mph. The initial warning covered Sandusky, Kelleys Island, Put-In-Bay, Catawba Island, Marblehead, and Bay View through 5:45 PM EDT.
By 6:37 PM EDT, the most intense storm was located over Castalia, approximately 7 miles southeast of Port Clinton, continuing its southeastern path at 25 mph. This storm carried 60 mph wind gusts and penny-size hail, according to radar data from the weather service.
Multiple Counties Under Warning
The storm system prompted warnings that extended across northwestern Huron County, Erie County, and eastern Sandusky County until 7:15 PM EDT. Communities in the path included Sandusky, Bellevue, Castalia, Bay View, Whites Landing, Bloomingville, and Vickery.
A separate severe thunderstorm warning issued at 6:17 PM EDT covered northeastern Huron County, Erie County, and west central Lorain County through 7:00 PM EDT. That storm was tracked near Northern Milan, about 7 miles north of Norwalk, moving southeast at 25 mph with similar wind and hail threats.
Areas impacted by this storm included Norwalk, Milan, Northern Milan, Wakeman, Oberlin, Berlin Heights, Kipton, and Birmingham.
Regional Watch Issued
The National Weather Service placed 18 counties under a severe thunderstorm watch effective 6:02 PM EDT through 11:00 PM EDT Thursday. The watch covered north central Ohio counties including Ashland, Crawford, Erie, Huron, Knox, Lorain, Marion, Morrow, and Richland.
Northeast Ohio counties under the watch included Holmes, Medina, Stark, and Wayne. Northwest Ohio counties included Hancock, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood, and Wyandot.
Major cities covered by the watch included Alliance, Ashland, Avon Lake, Bellevue, Bowling Green, Brunswick, Bucyrus, Canton, Cardington, Carey, Clyde, Crestline, Elyria, Findlay, Fostoria, Fremont, Galion, Huron, Killbuck, Lorain, Mansfield, Marion, Massillon, Medina, Millersburg, Mount Gilead, Mount Vernon, North Ridgeville, Norwalk, Orrville, Perrysburg, Rittman, Sandusky, Tiffin, Upper Sandusky, Wadsworth, Willard, and Wooster.
Storm Hazards and Impacts
The thunderstorms carried wind gusts of 60 mph and hail ranging from nickel size to quarter size, according to radar indicators. Weather service officials warned residents to expect damage to trees and power lines, with minor vehicle damage possible from hailstones.
The storm system began its approach from Lake Erie, with early warnings tracking severe weather near Kelleys Island before the storms moved inland across the region’s agricultural and residential areas.
All severe thunderstorm warnings expired by 7:15 PM EDT Thursday, though the broader watch remained in effect until 11:00 PM EDT for potential additional storm development across the region.
