Weather service now confirms 4 Cleveland-area tornadoes; here’s what we know (2024)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The National Weather Service has confirmed that at least four tornadoes occurred in the Cleveland area Tuesday, traveling across parts of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Summit counties, hitting multiple cities, leaving property damage, uprooting trees and knocking out power for days.

Late Thursday afternoon, the weather service confirmed two more tornadoes, one in Summit County and crossing into Cuyahoga County, and the other traveling from Lake County to Geauga County. This was in addition to tornadoes confirmed Wednesday for Avon Lake to Rocky River, and Brook Park to Bedford.

The path of each tornado can be found at this link.

But what else do we know about these tornadoes and is the weather phenomenon occurring more frequently in Northeast Ohio?

Tornado 1 - Avon Lake to Rocky River

The first tornado formed on the eastern part of Avon Lake in Lorain County at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday before swiftly traveling through Bay Village and dissipating in Rocky River at 3:56 p.m., covering a distance of 8.42 miles.

This tornado was 200 yards wide and had estimated peak winds of 110 mph, classifying it as an EF-1 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale which ranges from zero to five, with five being the most severe.

Tornado 2 - Brook Park to Bedford

The second tornado occurred moments later, at 3:59 p.m., in Brook Park, from where it traveled 17 miles to Bedford, passing through Parma, Parma Heights, Seven Hills, Independence and Valley View. It disappeared 25 minutes later at 4:24 p.m.

This tornado was 350 yards wide and had estimated peak winds of 104 mph, also classifying it as an EF-1 tornado.

Tornado 3 - Brecksville to Peninsula

The third tornado started at 4:20 p.m. in Brecksville, where it traveled 3.32 miles to Peninsula, passing through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It disappeared five minutes later at 4:25 p.m.

This tornado was 150 yards wide and had estimated peak winds of 104 mph, also classifying it as an EF-1 tornado.

Tornado 4 - Waite Hill to Chester Township

The fourth tornado started at 4:31 p.m. in Waite Hill. It then traveled southeast 4.79 miles to Chester Township, crossing from Lake County and into Geauga County. It ended seven minutes later at 4:38 p.m.

This tornado was 200 yards wide and had estimated peak winds of 110 mph, also classifying it as an EF-1 tornado.

The National Weather Service said late Thursday afternoon that it no longer had tornado survey teams in the field, but said it is still possible more tornadoes will later be added to Tuesday’s total.

Previous tornadoes

The last time a tornado hit Northeast Ohio was earlier this year, when a tornado occurred in Windham in Portage County near the intersection of Ohio Route 303 and Stanley Road, traveling through a number of roads and crossing the Ohio Turnpike before dissipating near Silica Sand Road.

Then, nearly a year ago on Aug. 24, 2023, there were nine tornadoes between Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties, including one in Cleveland and another in Warrensville Heights and Bedford Heights.

Tornadoes aren’t influenced much by rural or urban landscapes, but the reason more rural areas seem to get the weather phenomena is because they occupy more space than a more condensed area like a city.

“It’s just a numbers game,” said Jim Sullivan, a meteorologist with Cleveland’s National Weather Service.

More tornadoes

But if you think tornadoes are occurring more often in Ohio, Sullivan says you would be correct.

This year, Ohio has seen the most tornadoes on record in the state, with the 63rd tornado of the year confirmed on June 29. The previous record of 62 tornados was set in 1992. The most recent tornadoes will not be part of the official total until later in the year.

In Northeast Ohio, 19 tornadoes occurred from 2020 to 2024 before the ones from this week, less than halfway through the decade. In comparison, there were just 24 tornadoes from 2010 to 2019, and 13 from 2000 to 2009.

A few of these have been in Cuyahoga County.

Before last year the most recent tornado in Cuyahoga County was on June 16, 2019, when an EF-1 tornado occurred east of the Interstate 270 and I-480 intersection and traveled two miles to Glenwillow.

The only other tornado that occurred in Cuyahoga County since 2000 was on July 20, 2013, when a tornado was confirmed near the Ursuline College campus in Pepper Pike and crossed Fairmount Boulevard.

Zachary Smith is the data reporter for cleveland.com. You can reach him at zsmith@cleveland.com.

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