Overview
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A strong low pressure system tracked eastward from the Upper Midwest through the central Great Lakes region on Friday, March 13. As this low passed, the combination of a tight pressure gradient, strong mid-level wind field, and a well-mixed boundary layer produced several hours of damaging winds in the southern Great Lakes region. Wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph were common areawide. A burst of enhanced winds occurred with the passage of the associated cold front. A broken line of showers along the cold front combined with mid-level dry air caused extensive evaporative cooling. This led to strong downdrafts and momentum transfer of wind energy to the ground, resulting in some localized 75 to 85 mph gusts in the mid-afternoon. Over 600,000 residents lost power in Ohio, and damage to trees, power lines, and roofs was extensive. |
![]() Mid-level water vapor loop from 8 AM on March 13 to 8 AM on March 14, 2026. |
Photos & Video
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| Large tree crushed a house in Seven Hill, OH (Regan Jesurun) |
Gas station canopy toppled in Akron, OH (Derek Kyser) |
Pine tree uprooted in Orange Village, OH (Jeff Gerckens) |
Large tree on a vehicle in Akron, OH (Joe Mack) |
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| Power poles broken in Mount Vernon, OH (Kaitlynn Banbury) |
Roof shingles blown off house in Bloomville, OH (Sydney Beard) |
Tree through a shed and fence in Chagrin Falls, OH (Kelly Kelly) |
Top of utility pole snapped in Shaker Heights, OH (Linda Satyshur Pintabona) |
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| Large tree crushed a truck in Berea, OH (April Giese Foster) |
Roof torn off a building in Rittman, OH (Lisa Maimone) |
Large tree on a house in Canton, OH (Tiffany Crabtree) |
Gas station canopy blown over in New Franklin, OH (Kristen Andrews) |
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| Garage door blown in at a house in Olmsted Township, OH (Natalie Fawn Danelishen) |
Siding blown off a house in Wadsworth, OH (Pat Voinchet Grant) |
Shed destroyed in Tallmadge, OH (Rhonda Pickrell) |
Playground toppled in Hartville, OH (Becke Brown Umberger) |
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| Large pine tree blown over in Marion, OH (Rusty Bales) |
Shed destroyed in Big Prairie, OH (Jessica Parsons) |
Tree across road in Lakewood, OH (Kam Asher) |
Roof shingles lifted in Monroeville, OH (Tim Franks) |
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| Semi truck flipped on the Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge in Toledo, OH (George Seambos) |
Vehicle crushed by tree in Mansfield, OH (Brittni Salem) |
First responders rescuing the driver after the tree crushed the vehicle in Mansfield, OH (Brittni Salem) |
Power pole down in Bedford Heights (Matthew Wilson) |
Storm Reports
229 NOUS41 KCLE 140121 PNSCLE OHZ003-006>014-017>023-027>033-036>038-047-089-PAZ001>003-141321- Public Information Statement...Corrected National Weather Service Cleveland OH 921 PM EDT Fri Mar 13 2026 ...HIGHEST WIND REPORTS... Location Speed Time/Date Lat/Lon ...Ohio... ...Cuyahoga County... Cleveland Burke Lakefront 85 MPH 0301 PM 03/13 41.52N/81.68W Cleveland Hopkins Airport 77 MPH 0310 PM 03/13 41.42N/81.85W Fairview High School 62 MPH 0310 PM 03/13 41.44N/81.86W Parma 61 MPH 1230 PM 03/13 41.37N/81.70W ...Hancock County... Arcadia 73 MPH 0139 PM 03/13 41.12N/83.52W Findlay Airport 71 MPH 0232 PM 03/13 41.02N/83.67W ...Holmes County... 2 WSW Millersburg 71 MPH 0355 PM 03/13 40.53N/81.95W ...Lorain County... Lorain Elyria 77 MPH 0303 PM 03/13 41.35N/82.18W ...Lucas County... Toledo Express Airport 61 MPH 0155 PM 03/13 41.58N/83.80W ...Marion County... Marion 62 MPH 1248 PM 03/13 40.62N/83.07W ...Ottawa County... Martin 63 MPH 1157 AM 03/13 41.57N/83.33W ...Richland County... Mansfield Lahm Regional Arpt 66 MPH 0348 PM 03/13 40.82N/82.52W ...Trumbull County... Newton Falls 63 MPH 0349 PM 03/13 41.20N/80.97W Youngstown-Warren Regional 60 MPH 0347 PM 03/13 41.25N/80.67W ...Wood County... Toledo Executive Airport 69 MPH 1253 PM 03/13 41.57N/83.48W ...Pennsylvania... ...Erie County... Erie International Airport 64 MPH 0351 PM 03/13 42.08N/80.18W ...Ohio... ...Maritime Stations... 2 NNE Sandusky 71 MPH 0223 PM 03/13 41.49N/82.70W Cleveland, OH 62 MPH 0300 PM 03/13 41.54N/81.64W
Environment
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| Figure 1: WPC surface map loop from 8 AM March 13 to 8 AM March 14. Note the deep low pressure that tracked east across the Central Great Lakes and associated tight pressure gradient present. | Figure 2: SPC mesoanalysis 500 mb map from 8 AM March 13 to 8 PM March 13, 2026. Note the stronger pocket of 120 to 130 knots flow arriving into the area by late morning and early afternoon. | Figure 3: SPC mesoanalysis map of pressure rises (red) and falls (blue) from 8 AM March 13 to 8 PM March 13, 2026. Note the tight gradient of rises and falls located across portions of North and Northwest Ohio in the late morning and early afternoon. |
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