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Lake effect snow creates dangerous driving conditions across Cleveland for Thanksgiving travelers

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Lake effect snow creates dangerous driving conditions across Cleveland for Thanksgiving travelers


WESTLAKE, Ohio (WOIO) – Dangerous driving conditions developed across the Cleveland area Thursday as lake effect snow hit several communities west of Cleveland that weren’t expecting the heavy snowfall.

White-out conditions on Interstate 90 forced drivers to slow down as heavy snowfall made it nearly impossible to see the driving lanes. The snow fell heavily at times, not only east of the city as expected, but in communities west of Cleveland creating hazardous travel conditions for those heading home for Thanksgiving.

“It’s terrible out here. Visibility is zero — I could barely get around out here,” Jeff Spinelli of Westlake said.

Spinelli of Westlake, a private snow plow driver, finished his Thanksgiving dinner early after receiving calls to clear driveways. “We’ll be up all night,” Spinelli said.

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Thundersnow phenomenon adds to dangerous conditions

A rare phenomenon called thundersnow also appeared Thursday and was captured by ODOT cameras. The weather event happens after a cold front passes over a body of water.

Kevin from Bay Village pulled over at a gas station in Westlake to determine whether to continue his trip home or wait until Friday due to the dangerous driving conditions and numerous accidents on the freeway.

“This is crazy! I was just trying to get home back to Columbus and was not expecting this kind of snow,” Kevin said. “Stopped here just to try and think if I wanted to go on the highway or not.”

ODOT salt and plow trucks worked overtime to help travelers reach family and friends safely for the holiday. Officials asked drivers to give crews room to work.

But it was nearly impossible to keep up with the snowfall, “You’re not going to see bare pavement, you’re not going to be able to drive 70 miles per hour on I-90,” said Matt Bruning with ODOT.

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Bruning said the intense lake effect snow was expected to fall at one inch per hour, reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less. Strong winds caused conditions to change rapidly.

The Lake Effect Snow Warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. Friday in some counties.



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Cleveland, OH

Tornado touched down in Wayne County on Tuesday night

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Tornado touched down in Wayne County on Tuesday night


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down in Wayne County as severe thunderstorms raced through Northeast Ohio Tuesday evening.

The Wayne County tornado touched down and lifted at 9:56 p.m.

It traveled .11 mile with a width of 75 yards and peak wind of 85 MPH, NWS confirmed.

Tornado touched down in Wayne County on Tuesday night(WOIO)

Tornado warnings were issued in these counties:

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  • Cuyahoga
  • Geauga
  • Holmes
  • Lake
  • Stark
  • Wayne

19 News reached out first responders in the areas where tornado sirens were set-off, but there was no significant damage reported.

However, thousands of people remain without power Wednesday.

Check the outage maps by FirstEnergy, Cleveland Public Power, and AEP for the latest developments.

Get the latest on the severe weather on the 19 First Alert Forecast webpage



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Cleveland, OH

Many dealing with damage after severe weather rolled through northeast Ohio

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Many dealing with damage after severe weather rolled through northeast Ohio


CLEVELAND — A line of storms blew through northern Ohio Tuesday night, spurring Tornado Warnings, especially in the Cleveland area.


What You Need To Know

  • Gusts of 74 miles per hour were recorded hitting the region
  • The storms prompted a Flood Warning overnight, which has since expired; high water remains to be an issue in some areas
  • More than 30,000 people were without power as of Wednesday morning, mainly in Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties

Gusts of 74 miles per hour were recorded hitting the region, and many are waking up without power on Wednesday morning, with some debris to clean up. 

The storms prompted a Flood Warning overnight, and high water remains to be an issue in some areas. 

As of Wednesday morning, more than 30,000 people were without power, mostly in Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties. Cleveland Metropolitan School District announced some schools are closed due to power outages as well. 

In an update early Wednesday, Cleveland Public Power said it has worked through the night and restored power to approximately 75% of customers.

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“Our crews are facing challenges such as uprooted trees and aluminum siding as well other debris blown into powerlines. We appreciate your patience as they work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power,” Cleveland Public Power wrote in a post on Facebook.


To submit photos of storm damage, click here.


The National Weather Service reported multiple trees down, including a tree that went through a house in Wayne County. There are also massive trees blocking sidewalks and roadways, including in Shaker Heights. 

Over in Willoughby Hills, fire and police warned of high water from the Chagrin River, creating flood hazards. Some roads were closed in the area, including Bishop Road and White Road. Flooding was also reported along SOM Center Road. The river crested at about 15 feet at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

“Police, Fire and Service Departments are actively working to address these issues and assist residents,” Willoughby Hills Police said. “Please use extreme caution while driving. Do NOT attempt to drive through water of unknown depth.”

(Willoughby Hills Fire Department)

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To the western side of the state, Toledo also faced some damage from the strong storms.




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Cleveland, OH

Cuyahoga County takes a beating during Tuesday night’s severe weather

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Cuyahoga County takes a beating during Tuesday night’s severe weather


CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Tuesday night’s storm ravaged various parts of Cuyahoga County, including Shaker Heights, Cleveland and North Olmsted.

Tornado Warning issued for 3 Northeast Ohio counties

During our travels throughout the county, we saw a massive tree uprooted out of a field near Woodbury Elementary.

The tree stood inches from South Woodland Road and luckily snapped in the direction of the field rather than the residential homes on the other side.

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Over in Cleveland on West 54th Street and Courtland Avenue, police blocked off a section of that intersection due to a downed tree that fell near a playground.

There was also a telephone pole that snapped and was hanging over the top of the road.

In North Olmsted on Birch Circle, there were several downed trees in front yards.

“Oh, it was a mess the second, I mean, coming down and seeing those four trees lying up. There’s three in the front here just lying on their side all over the driveway, and all the neighbors outside, wondering what to do, you know, where to start,” Taylor Wright told me.

Wright wasn’t home at the time of the storm. Neither was his partner, Candace Kepler.

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Kepler said she was down the street at Target when the store started making announcements to take shelter.

“They made an announcement saying that everybody needed to be escorted to the tornado hall, and they made us all just leave our shopping carts and everything. We all went to the back of the store and huddled in this little metal hall in the back of Target,” Kepler said.

For 35 minutes, Kepler said she was stuck inside the store, worrying about her teenage daughter who was home alone.

“She was pretty scared because she saw the trees come down,” Kepler said. “I wanted to leave, but they wouldn’t let me leave, so I just kept her on FaceTime and tried to see if our neighbors… they came over and grabbed her, so that was good. Just keeping her safe was really just a priority.”

Luckily, their daughter is safe and sound, and so are they.

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“Had you seen anything like it before?” I asked Wright.

He said, “Not this bad, especially not around here. This was the worst I’ve seen it over here with trees for sure.”

As of 8:30 p.m., Kepler and Wright were without power.

They were anticipating that it would come back on by 9:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, neighbors are already acting fast to chop the downed trees into pieces.

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“They were in the neighbor’s driveway, so I grabbed my chainsaw, and then Sam, our neighbor, his kid came over with one, and we just got them all picked up, chopped them all up, and put them all in the tree lawn,” Wright said.

Stick with News 5 as we continue to monitor the latest on storm damage.

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