Cleveland, OH

Cleveland’s Climate Refuge Status Gets Complicated

Published

7 months ago

December 1, 2025

Cleveland’s Climate Refuge Status Gets Complicated

This article was published through an exclusive content-sharing agreement with neo-trans.blog.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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Cleveland, OH

Lakewood power outage: Day two leaves businesses, residents scrambling

Published

2 hours ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Lakewood power outage: Day two leaves businesses, residents scrambling

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (WOIO) – A power outage stretching into its second day left roughly 1,200 customers without electricity across Lakewood’s southwest side, forcing small businesses to operate on bare-bones staffing and sending at least one diabetic resident scrambling to keep insulin refrigerated.

Businesses push through with cash and calculators

At the Lakewood Garden Center, manager Isabella Dombrowski kept the doors open despite sweltering conditions inside the shop — no power, no fans.

“It is swampy and it’s disgusting and I’m pissed the power is out,” Dombrowski said.

With no electronic registers, staff switched to cash-only transactions, counting back change by hand and using phone calculators to process sales.

“We try to service people how we can, even if it’s running with bare-bones staff and our phone calculator — we will work with you,” Dombrowski said.

Resident forced to relocate insulin amid outage

For Hunter Duseau, the outage created a medical emergency.

“For me the most frustrating thing is I’m diabetic and I have to keep my insulin refrigerated, so I had to scramble to get it to my friend’s house,” Duseau said.

Mayor points to Lauderdale substation, calls out FirstEnergy

Lakewood Mayor Meghan George said the outages trace back to the Lauderdale substation, which knocked out power to much of the city’s southwest side. She visited Haze Elementary Friday morning, where FirstEnergy crews were installing a backup generator for that substation.

“I was just at Haze Elementary this morning, where FirstEnergy is installing a backup generator for this Lauderdale substation,” George said.

The mayor did not hold back in her criticism of the utility.

“For FirstEnergy to continue to fail us is completely unacceptable,” George said.

FirstEnergy responds, cites heat wave and infrastructure investment

In a statement to 19 News, FirstEnergy acknowledged the impact of the outages and attributed the strain to an extreme heat wave driving elevated electricity demand across the region.

“We understand the frustration and hardship these outages have caused for Lakewood residents, especially during this period of extreme heat,” the statement read. “Our crews, engineers and system operators have been working around the clock to restore service safely and as quickly as possible for affected customers.”

FirstEnergy said it is investing millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades and reliability improvements for Lakewood and surrounding communities and said it appreciates Mayor George’s advocacy for residents.

Power has since been restored. Power had been flickering on and off since Wednesday.

Free water available at area Giant Eagle locations

FirstEnergy said free water is available for customers beginning Thursday at 4 p.m. through Sunday evening, or while supplies last, at the following Giant Eagle locations:

14100 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, OH 44107
3050 W. 117th St., Cleveland, OH 44111
22160 Center Ridge Rd., Rocky River, OH 44116

Residents are also encouraged to use available cooling centers and community resources during the ongoing heat event.

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Cleveland, OH

Woman found dead in backyard of Cleveland home

Published

12 hours ago

July 3, 2026

Press Room

Woman found dead in backyard of Cleveland home

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A woman was found dead in the backyard of a home on the city’s West side Friday morning.

Officers responded to the 3400 block of Bosworth Rd. around 9 a.m. for a welfare check.

This is in the city’s West Boulevard neighborhood.

When officers arrived at the home, they found the victim.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Officer will now determine the victim’s name and cause of death.

A child connected to the woman has been located and confirmed safe, said Cleveland police.

Police added the circumstances regarding the death remain under investigation.

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Cleveland, OH

Extreme heat warning ends Friday evening: What to expect

Published

22 hours ago

July 3, 2026

Press Room

Extreme heat warning ends Friday evening: What to expect

This forecast is outdated and inaccurate. Get the latest forecast here.

CLEVELAND (WJW) — (WJW) — The National Weather Service has extended its EXTREME HEAT WARNING for all of Northeast Ohio.

It will remain in effect until 8 p.m. on Friday, July 3, in Ashland, Ashtabula, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning Medina, Ottawa, Portage, Richland, Sandusky, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties; and until 10 p.m. Friday, July 3, in Carroll, Coshocton and Tuscarawas counties.

The heat waves continues! An EXTREME HEAT WARNING will remain in effect through 8 p.m. Friday. Heat indices could top 105 degrees during the hottest time of day on Friday.

Once again, there will not be much relief from the heat and humidity overnight. Tonight lows will be in the mid to upper 70s again. Feeling warmer with the higher humidity. Mostly clear skies.

Friday will be the last sweltering summer day before the heat starts to back off for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. There is the chance of rain and storms Friday evening, around 7pm that could go through the late evening. This may impact some 4th of July celebrations on Friday. Any storm that pops up we’ll have to watch for the potential of gusty winds, heavy downpours and large hail.

This is what the radar could look like by the time some Fireworks celebrations are expected Friday evening. We have a level 2 out of 5 chance of any storm turning severe, meaning that 1 or 2 have the chance.

The upper-level ridge, or heat dome, will start to breakdown on Friday. This means two things. The first is it will go from being very hot and humid to being very warm and humid. The second thing is the chance of rain and threat of storms will return.

The Fourth of July holiday weekend will be far from a washout! There will be more dry time than time with downpours and storms. However, clusters of downpours and storms will move through Northeast Ohio at times. This means some Fourth of July events, backyard BBQs, pool parties, and firework shows could be impacted by rain and storms.

With all the heat and humidity around, any downpours or storms that develop could be strong and produce gusty winds, small hail, torrential rain, and lightning. Here’s the latest 8 Day Forecast: