Cleveland, OH

Cleveland among fastest warming cities in USA – NEOtrans

Published

6 months ago

November 28, 2025

Cleveland among fastest warming cities in USA – NEOtrans

Enjoying outdoor events later the season has become possible in Cleveland due to climate change. Here, the St. Ignatius High School soccer team plays at Cleveland State University’s Krenzler Field on a sunny, mild October day (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Data reinforces Cleveland as climate refuge

Despite the snowy Thanksgiving holiday, Cleveland’s status as a climate refuge got a warm review thanks to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the last decade, only three U.S. cities’ climates warmed faster than Cleveland’s, according to the new data.

In fact, NOAA’s data showed six Great Lakes cities and four New England cities comprised the top 10 cities that warmed the fastest from 2015-2024. Those cities, from most to least fastest warming, were: Sault Saint Marie, MI; Caribou, ME; Rochester, NY; Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Syracuse, NY; Bangor, ME; Flint, MI; Burlington, VT; Montpelier, VT.

“Cleveland saw average temperatures rise from 51.13°F in 2015 to 55.23°F in 2024, an increase of 4.10°F,” a press statement noted. “Meanwhile, Columbus followed closely behind, warming from 53.21°F to 57.28°F, a 4.07°F spike. These increases place both Ohio cities among the fastest-warming urban areas in the country.”

In Sault Ste. Marie, the average temperature was 41.98°F in 2015. Last year, it was 46.78°F, or a 4.80°F rise. At the low end of the top 10, Montpelier’s average temperature in 2015 was 42.54°F. A decade later, it was 46.31°F or a 3.77°F rise.

Of the 215 locations studied in NOAA’s data, assembled by the National Centers for Environmental Information and Anderson Air, around 78 percent (or 168) have had temperatures increase between 2015 and 2024.

Cleveland and Columbus both ranked in the top-10 U.S. cities experiencing the largest temperature increases over the past 10 years (NCEI, Anderson Air).

On the opposite end of the study, coastal California bucked the national trend. Los Angeles has cooled by 2.93°F since 2015, marking the largest temperature decrease nationwide. San Diego followed closely behind, cooling by 2.52°F.

Why is climate data in a blog about Cleveland-area real estate, construction and economic development? Because where people want to live drives investments in housing or transportation and utility infrastructure.

And the data offers a challenge to cities like Cleveland. Warmer temperatures put increased stress on cooling systems and electrical utility infrastructure which is already being tasked to handle significant new consumers of electricity, namely data centers.

At the extreme, sudden changes in climate can push people out, like the 1930s Dust Bowl forced farmers to abandon the Great Plains for the relative calm of the West Coast. Today, tropical storms and high insurance rates or even cancelations are causing some people to leave the Gulf Coast states. Wildfires have wreaked havoc across the Western states and Canadian provinces.

It’s not just North America that’s affected, of course. Up to 1.2 billion people worldwide may be displaced by climate change by 2050, according to the Institute
for Economics & Peace. Their loss could be Cleveland’s gain.

Enjoying the cool breeze off Lake Erie is a popular pastime on hot days at Cleveland’s Edgewater Park (NEOtrans).

The Great Lakes region, harboring 20 percent of the world’s freshwater supply, seem like a peaceful alternative to places experiencing climate turmoil — aside from our increasingly rare blizzards or wetter springs that can bring severe thunderstorms and flash floods.

“We have to realize that the southern states are literally not going to be livable in 50 years,” says David Pogue, American technology and science writer and correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning. Pogue is a Cleveland-area native and the author of How to Prepare for Climate Change.

“Where are they going to go?” Pogue asked in a recent article. “They’re going to move North. There’s absolutely no question. This is Cleveland’s game to lose. It’s time to start thinking about attracting a new generation of people who can make Cleveland vibrant, beautiful and safe.”

Cleveland and Cuyahoga County leaders are striving to capitalize on our location on a Great Lake, a shoreline that was turned over to industry in the 1800s. But in post-industrial Cleveland, where someone can work remotely to anywhere in the world, our shoreline is turning residential and recreational.

While Greater Cleveland’s population is edging upward, a lack of new housing inventory is causing prices to surge. In fact, housing prices are rising faster in Greater Cleveland than in most other metros, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index. The region’s affordability has been one of its greatest draws.

Building more housing, enhancing transportation and energy infrastructure, and converting obsolete industrial lands along Lake Erie into publicly accessible uses are a challenge to Greater Cleveland if it wishes to protect its status as a climate haven in the coming decades (NEOtrans).

According to job and career search Web site Monster.com, Greater Cleveland was one of the nation’s fastest growing job markets in the third quarter of 2025. The Q3 2025 Monster Job Market Report ranked Greater Cleveland as the 11th-best hiring hot spot in the United States.

Cleveland’s affordability, improving economy and climate safety, like those of Detroit, Milwaukee and others in the Great Lakes region, are causing young people to “boomerang” after leaving home for the promise of coastal big cities.

“Cities like Cleveland, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York faced similar declines as industry left and young people followed,” said Strong Towns staff writer Asia Mieleszko. “But the tides are shifting. Some communities are seeing their children return, ready to raise families where they grew up.”

“Others are seeing renewed job opportunities, sparked by local entrepreneurship or policy success,” she added. “Some neighborhoods are welcoming people relocating from places affected by hurricanes, wildfires, or floods—whether for the long term or just to get back on their feet.”

END

Source link

Cleveland, OH

Man shot on Cleveland’s West Side

Published

9 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A man was shot in Cleveland’s Cudell neighborhood Tuesday night.

Cleveland Police 1st District officers responded to the 10100 block of Madison Ave around 9:00 P.M.

A man approximately 45 years of age was found with a gunshot wound.

EMS took the victim to MetroHealth Hospital. This incident remains under investigation.

There is no information on any suspects or arrests.

Source link

Cleveland, OH

Leaders in Washington and Cleveland take aim at affordable housing in Northeast Ohio

Published

19 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Leaders in Washington and Cleveland take aim at affordable housing in Northeast Ohio

CLEVELAND — Ahead of her Third Annual Housing Expo this Saturday at Tri-C Corporate College East, Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) rolled out her Safe and Affordable Housing Agenda on Tuesday. It’s a series of four bills aimed at lowering home costs while strengthening lead paint and pipe abatement.

“We wanted to bring something forward that would improve the living conditions, to make things more affordable and more accessible for not only the constituents of Ohio’s 11th Congressional District but those who are experiencing the same challenge across the country,” Brown told News 5.

The Housing Supply Fund Act is legislation that encourages the building of more affordable housing by filling financing gaps that are holding back construction. The legislation would establish a competitive program within the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to address financing gaps that prevent otherwise viable housing projects from moving forward.

“We want to make sure we do not give up on affordable housing; we want to make sure that it is more accessible,” Brown said.

There is also the Affordable Housing Preservation and Protection Act, which is legislation to maintain and preserve existing HUD-assisted housing. This legislation establishes a new HUD preservation authority to provide targeted financing and intervention tools for distressed HUD-assisted multifamily properties at risk of deterioration, foreclosure, or loss of affordability.

The bill is designed to help preserve affordable housing, facilitate responsible ownership transitions, and protect existing federal housing investments serving seniors, working families, and vulnerable residents.

The other two bills introduced deal with the issue of lead abatement. The GET THE LEAD OUT Act of 2026 would create a new federal grant program to replace lead pipes, fixtures, and taps. The legislation would create a broad federal framework to address lead in drinking water and housing by funding removal of lead-based pipe and tap hazards, establishing training and certification requirements, directing federal standards and state programs, and integrating lead plumbing remediation into major housing programs. Brown’s legislation creates new authorities and financing mechanisms to drive national action on residential lead plumbing hazards.

The Removing Existing Pipes with Lead and Advancing Clean Environments (or REPLACE) Act improves existing lead paint and lead pipe removal programs within the federal government. This legislation would amend existing HUD and Safe Drinking Water Act authorities to strengthen lead-paint hazard remediation in housing, improve local implementation capacity, and better coordinate paint and pipe removal efforts.

“We know that this has been a longstanding issue in the City of Cleveland,” she said. “What we’re doing is trying to supplement and amplify the opportunities to be able to address these issues that have long-standing impacts in our community.”

Brown’s announcement comes on the heels of the Bibb administration’s announcement of the creation of the Housing Innovation District, a 1,500-acre swath of land covering St. Clair, Superior and Hough where efforts will begin this summer to repopulate streets that have lost more than half of their homes in recent decades with new housing starting on East 67th south of St. Clair, where ten homes will go up later this year.

A recent New York Times piece cited that among the barriers to building more housing are restrictive zoning and permitting, something the city addresses in this district.

“One of the big things that we’re doing is eliminating permit fees for single-family home construction, which is again a real sort of barrier to this sort of work,” said Tom McNair, Mayor Justin Bibb’s Chief of Integrated Development.

They also established what they call a “Pattern Book,” where they’ve pre-approved designs for certain types of homes in this district to speed up the process.

“When there’s a vacant lot that the city owns, it will be like this is the home you want, this is the lot you want to build on, here’s your permit,” he said.

Congresswoman Brown sees their efforts helping citizens towards the same goal.

“Our legislation would dovetail perfectly into what the mayor is putting forth as well,” she said. “People are doing all of the right things, they’re working hard, but they’re still having trouble getting ahead, and we want to be able to again address that gap as it relates to the opportunity to build wealth in our community, and this legislation will certainly help put people on a pathway to do that.”

Part of that pathway includes Brown’s Housing Expo for constituents of the 11th Congressional District. “It’s a one-stop shop for everything housing, so whether you are a renter or whether you are a first-time home buyer, whether you are looking to renovate, whether you are a senior that’s aging in place. We wanted to bring every aspect of the housing industry under one umbrella, and so we will do that.”

Constituents can register for the free event here.

Source link