597
Recorded events
12
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$24.8M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Cuyahoga County, Ohio: 597 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 90. That places the county #62 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Cuyahoga County, Ohio: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Cuyahoga County is the 2010s, when 150 of the county's 597 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cuyahoga County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 56.6% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #62 for this hazard and #1 within Ohio, putting it in the 98.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Cuyahoga County with 134 recorded events, while Dec is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 1990 | 0 | 3 | 3 | $0 | |
| Jul 25, 1999 | BAY VLG | 0 | 3 | 0 | $2K |
| Aug 16, 1997 | CLEVELAND | 0 | 2 | 0 | $75K |
| Apr 12, 1996 | COUNTYWIDE | 72 | 1 | 1 | $1.0M |
| May 31, 1998 | LAKEWOOD | 0 | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 28, 1994 | E Portion | 0 | 1 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Jun 15, 1994 | Garfield Heights and | 0 | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 8, 2003 | CLEVELAND | 31 | 0 | 3 | $5K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2026 | BENTLEYVILLE | 61 | $100K |
| Mar 31, 2026 | MAYFIELD | 55 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | (BKL)CLEVELAND LAKEF | 70 | $10K |
| Mar 31, 2026 | PARMA | 61 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | LINNDALE | 61 | $40K |
| Mar 31, 2026 | LINNDALE | 61 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | BROOK PARK | 62 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | NORTH OLMSTED | 61 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | BAY VLG | 61 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2025 | HIGHLAND HGTS | 55 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cuyahoga County
- Hail 297
- Flash Flood 97
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 46 year old woman and two men, ages 30 and 32 were killed when a large branch broke off of a tree and fell 60 feet landing on the picnic table they were sitting at. Although no adverse weather was occurring at the time of the accident, strong thunderstorms producing winds of around 45 mph moved through the area about an hour earlier. It is believed that these storms weakened the branch and ultimately caused it to fall.
A 27-year-old off duty Cleveland Heights policeman was killed by lightning as he was walking to the house to avoid the approaching storm. Trees were downed, some on power lines. Coshocton County Coshocton,15,1713EST,,,0,0,3,0,Thunderstorm Winds
A thunderstorm downburst with peak winds estimated to be as much as 75 mph did extensive damage in Cleveland's western suburbs. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees were toppled in Bay Village, Rocky River and Lakewood. The damage was most concentrated near the Lake Erie shoreline. Lakewood was the hardest hit of the communities with hundreds of trees down in the northwest corner of the city alone. At least 15 intersections in the city had to be closed because of downed trees and power lines. Fallen trees damaged more than a 130 homes in Lakewood alone. Damage in Lakewood topped $4 million. Additional homes and buildings were damaged in Rocky River and the eastern portion of Bay Village. Dozens of automobiles were also damaged by the downburst. According to estimates, as many 200,000 people may have lost power during this event. It took over two days for power to be restored to all areas.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Cuyahoga County, Ohio?
597 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Cuyahoga County between 1955 and 2026, causing 12 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Cuyahoga County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Cuyahoga County measured 90.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Cuyahoga County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/cuyahoga-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.