Elyria

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Lorain County, the county that contains Elyria.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Lorain County, the county that contains Elyria.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Lorain County, the county that contains Elyria.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 12, 2014Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The City of North Ridgeville sustained significant and widespread damage from a flash flood on the evening of May 12th. An estimated 300 homes and 1,000 businesses sustained damage from the flood waters. Heavy rain, measured at 6��� in two locations in town, fell within two hours. The intensity and magnitude of the rain has a return frequency of every 500 years. The storm drains were overwhelmed leading to backwater into area basements. The sewage plant on the French Creek sustained $20,000 in damages. The Mill Creek flooded condos on Mill Creek Boulevard resulting in 15 people rescued from the second floor or their homes. The Mill Creek shopping plaza was inundated from…

2. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Lorain$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike began during the early evening hours of September 14th and continued through late evening. A peak wind gust of 71 mph was measured by an automated sensor at the Lorain County Airport near Elyria at 6:04 PM EDT. Damage in the county was extensive with thousands of trees and many utility poles downed. A twelve year old boy riding his bike in Lorain was killed around 6:30 PM EDT. The boy was struck by a falling tree limb and sustained fatal head injuries. In Lorain, a 37 year old female was hospitalized with injuries sustained when her moving vehicle was struck by a falling tree limb. Widespread power outages occurred in the…

3. May 21, 2004Flash Flood$12.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms dumped torrential rains on Lorain County during the early morning hours of May 21st resulting in the worst flooding seen in the county since 1969. The southern portion of the county and especially the Wellington, Oberlin and Lagrange areas were very hard hit. Heavy rain between 2 and 5 a.m. caused the west branch of the Black River and it's tributaries to leave their banks. Rainfall rates were in excess of two inches per hour during the peak of the storm. Just over five inches of rain was measured at the water treatment plant in Lagrange with numerous three inch reports received from both the Wellington and Oberlin areas. Bucket surveys from the area indicate that as…

4. Jan 5, 2005Ice Storm, Lorain$4.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second time in just over two weeks, a devastating and historic winter storm affected Northern Ohio. Significant ice accumulations occurred over most of the area downing thousands of trees, causing widespread power outages and making travel nearly impossible. Low pressure over Missouri moved rapidly northeast on January 5th. This low moved across eastern Ohio early on January 6th and was responsible for producing a prolonged period of freezing rain. A mixture of rain and snow changed to freezing rain from west to east during the early morning hours of the 5th. Periods of freezing rain then continued for the remainder of the 5th and through the early morning hours of the…

5. Dec 22, 2004Winter Storm, Lorain$4.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A record setting winter storm affected northern Ohio on December 22nd and 23rd. The impact and damage caused by this storm has been compared to the Blizzard of January 1978. Low pressure developed over eastern Texas early on the 22nd and then moved quickly northeast. The low eventually tracked across eastern Ohio during the morning hours of the 23rd after dumping nearly two feet of snow on portions of Ohio. The snow began around daybreak on the 22nd and then intensified around midday. Heavy snow with visibilities of a quarter mile or less then persisted into the early morning hours of the 23rd. Snowfall rates much of this time ranged from one to two inches per hour. Winds…

6. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Lorain$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds in Lorain County gusted to over 60 mph for a few hours. A peak gust of 63 mph was measured by an automated sensor at the Lorain County Airport. Hundreds of trees were downed in the county with most of the damage near the Lake Erie shoreline. Up to 30,000 electric customers lost power. There were reports of trees on houses and vehicles. Many homes also lost sections of roofing and siding. A lot of streets had to be closed because of downed trees and power lines.

7. Jun 22, 2006Flood$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from heavy thunderstorm rains earlier in the night caused streams and rivers in Lorain County to rapidly rise. By mid-morning evacuations were conducted along the East Branch of the Black River in both Lagrange and Carlisle Townships. A total of ten homes were evacuated. In Lagrange Township, four people had to be rescued by boat from their Vermont Road home. Evacuations were conducted later in the morning in Elyria as the Black River flooded the Greenview Drive area. Water rose to the second floors of 13 homes in this neighborhood. At least one person had to be rescued by boat from the roof of his home. The Black River later crested at 16.9 feet, well above the flood stage…

8. Jun 23, 2015Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A series of thunderstorms rolled in off Lake Erie during the early morning hours of June 23. Between 5 am and 6 am three separate storms hit northeast Lorain and northwest Cuyahoga Counties with heavy rain and strong winds. The radar estimates rainfall amounts of around 2.5 to 3 inches in a little less than two hours. The rainfall rates spiked to over 5 inches per hour during the height of the storm dropping 2.5 inches in 30 minutes. This intense rainfall overwhelmed storm drainage systems resulting in widespread basement flooding which started before widespread power outages. Some homes on Lake Road had up to five feet of water in their basements. Bay Village received between 2.8…

9. Aug 23, 2023Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding across northern Lorain County due to heavy rainfall. Widespread basement and isolated first floor flooding reported in Lorain, Elyria, Amherst, Avon Lake, Avon, and North Ridgeville. Widespread flooded roadways reported. Post event damage assessments reported hundreds of homes and businesses flooded. Radar estimated rainfall of 3 to 4 inches falling in a three hour period, which matched several measured rain gauge reports from the area.

10. Nov 10, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$2.4 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds well in excess of 60 mph caused extensive damage in the City of Lorain and Sheffield Lake. A school in Sheffield Lake lost a large section of roof and suffered extensive water damage. 46 homes in the area were damaged by the strong winds, flying debris and fallen trees. Of this total, eight homes were beyond repair and classified as being destroyed. Several homes in Lorain and surrounding areas were also damaged by fallen trees. Hundreds of trees were downed in the county.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°FJun 25, 1988

All-time low

−20°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jun 20, 1949

Coldest day

−5°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

4.59 inSep 7, 1996

Snowiest day

13.6 inFeb 23, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 55.2°F

Coldest year

1963mean 47.6°F

Wettest year

201165.32 in

Driest year

196318.63 in

Snowiest season

117.9 in2004-05

Station Cleveland (USW00014820), 860 ft elevation, 12.9 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Lorain County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014820.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.