The Ohio Fireworks Derecho (or also the Ohio Independence Day derecho of 1969), was a severe wind event that took place during the evening hours of July 4, 1969. It affected the northern half of the state of Ohio as well as portions of Pennsylvania, southern Michigan, northern West Virginia and extreme southwestern New York. It was one of the numerous events of that type that hit a region in the United States during its national holiday, the others being in 1977, 1980 and 1999.
The event started out during the afternoon hours as a line of thunderstorms developed in southern Michigan. At about 6 p.m., as it reached the southern suburbs of the Detroit Metro area in Lenawee and Monroe counties, it quickly became a major derecho. It entered northwestern Ohio near the Toledo area packing winds that locally exceeded 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) which downed scores of trees all over the city.
Moving at a fairly quick pace, the mesoscale then hit the Sandusky and Cleveland areas creating extensive damage to some of its suburbs, including Lakewood, Rocky River and Linndale. Major damage was also reported over communities right along the Lake Erie shoreline. Winds also peaked near 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) in Cleveland, causing extensive power outages. An F3 tornado was confirmed in Flat Rock, Michigan on the day of this event.[2]
At about midnight, after affecting northeastern Ohio and the Pittsburgh area, the storm weakened and dissipated near the borders of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland.
This derecho event, although short-lived in comparison with other such events, was one of the deadliest ever. Eighteen people were killed in Ohio alone, including seven in Cleveland. Many of them were from toppled trees. At least three people who were watching holiday fireworks from small boats on Lake Erie drowned after being thrown off their boats by the high winds. [3] Over 100 boats were destroyed or flipped over on Lake Erie.[4] There were also injuries reported in western Pennsylvania.
In 2009, a temporary exhibit stood in Edgewater Park (part of the Lakefront Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks[5]) in Cleveland commemorating the event.[6]
www.spc.noaa.go...
Jump up ^ "Maps and Statistics". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
Jump up ^ American Museum of Natural History Science Bulletins
Jump up ^ The Ohio Fireworks Derecho
Jump up ^ Ewinger, James (June 6, 2013). "Cleveland Metroparks, State of Ohio deal means new management, new vision for lakefront parks (videos, photo gallery)". The Plain Dealer. cleveland.com - Cleveland Live LLC. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
Jump up ^ Scott, Michael (2009-07-16). "Cleveland Metroparks unveil Lake to Lake Trail at Big Creek Reservation: 1969 storm recalled". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
External links[edit]
NOAA Webpage on the derecho
The Toledo Blade's coverage of the aftermath, July 5, 1969
Heaton, Michael (2009-07-02). "40 years ago, holiday storm ravaged Northeast Ohio". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
Categories: 1969 meteorologyNatural disasters in OhioNatural disasters in PennsylvaniaDerechos in the United StatesHistory of Cleveland1969 natural disasters in the United StatesHistory of Toledo, Ohio1969 in OhioJuly 1969 events.
Cleveland (/ˈkliːvlənd/ KLEEV-lənd) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County,[7] the state's second most populous county.[8][9] The city proper has a population of 388,072, making Cleveland the 51st largest city in the United States,[5] and the second-largest city in Ohio after Columbus.[10][11] Greater Cleveland ranked as the 32nd largest metropolitan area in the United States, with 2,055,612 people in 2016.[12] The city anchors the Cleveland-Akron-Canton Combined Statistical Area, which had a population of 3,515,646 in 2010 and ranks 15th in the United States.
The city is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of the Pennsylvania border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location on the lake shore, as well as being connected to numerous canals and railroad lines. Cleveland's economy has diversified sectors that include manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedical. Cleveland is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Residents of Cleveland are called "Clevelanders". Cleveland has many nicknames, the oldest of which in contemporary use being "The Forest City"