Summit County, OH Environment & Hazard Risk

• HailRelatively High$13.2M/yr expected annual loss, about 4.0 events a year
• Strong windRelatively High$4M/yr expected annual loss, about 2.2 events a year
• Winter weatherRelatively High$772K/yr expected annual loss, about 14 events a year
• LightningRelatively High$2M/yr expected annual loss, about 41 events a year
• Ice stormRelatively High$1.7M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• TornadoRelatively High$7.9M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 5 years
• Heat waveRelatively Moderate$3.1M/yr expected annual loss, about 2.0 events a year
• EarthquakeRelatively Low$1.4M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,284 years
• Cold waveRelatively Moderate$2.8M/yr expected annual loss, about 3.9 events a year
• HurricaneRelatively Low$239K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 120 years
• WildfireVery Low$56.9K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 25,355 years
• LandslideVery Low$1,516/yr expected annual loss, about once every 6 years

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, drought, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

724 of 201,328 (0.4%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

1,134

Insured in high-risk zones

324 (29%)

Flood claims since 1978

817

Claims paid since 1978

$13M

• Thunderstorm Wind324 · 1 death
• Hail209
• High Wind54 · 2 deaths
• Flash Flood54 · 4 deaths
• Winter Storm41
• Heavy Snow17
• Flood13 · 1 death
• Tornado10
• Lake-Effect Snow9 · 1 death
• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill9

• Hail4.25" hail06/08/2007

  Akron, Summit County

  $288M damage

  What happened

  A severe thunderstorm moved across Summit County and caused unprecedented damage. Hail as large as softballs fell across much of the county. Extensive damage was done to homes and vehicles in Akron and surrounding areas. Nearly 51,100 insurance claims were filed for damage in the county. The south side of Akron was the hardest hit.

• Flash Flood07/22/2003

  Countywide, Summit County

  3 deaths, $100M damage

  What happened

  Thunderstorms dumped very heavy rains on Summit County causing catastrophic flooding in parts of the county. Rainfall rates exceeded two inches per hour at times during the evening hours. Many streams and creeks left their banks causing widespread flooding. Spotters measured 7.20 inches of rain at Richfield and a gage at Hudson High School record 3 inches of rain between 7:45 and 8:15 p.m. with a storm total of 7.5 inches. Five inches of rain was measured in Stow. Two men drown at approximately 8:50 p.m. in an underground parking garage at an condominium complex located along Atterbury Boulevard in Hudson. Witnesses indicated that the underground garage filled with water in just a few minutes. Nearby Brandywine Creek overfilled it's banks and flooded the complex. The creek rose at the rate of two feet every 10 minutes between 8 and 9 p.m. Flooding reached half way up the first floor of the buildings and around 80 residents of the complex had to be evacuated by boat. Bucket surveys upstream of the complex indicate that as much as 10.4 inches of rain fell on the 21st. A third man was electrocuted and killed while working in his flooded basement. Mud Brook left it's...

• Winter Weather03/05/2019

  Summit

  29 injured, $1.5M damage

  What happened

  A robust snow shower moved over northeast Summit County, Ohio just before 3 PM on March 5th, resulting in quickly deteriorating visibilities and a quick half inch to inch of snowfall in the Hudson, Stow, and Boston Heights areas. This snow shower moved over State Route 8 and the poor winter weather conditions allowed for a large multi-vehicle accident to develop on the northbound lanes of the freeway between mile markers 12.6 and 11.4. Over 100 vehicles were involved in the incident with 90 vehicles that were towed off the freeway that afternoon. 29 people were reported injured during this event with 3 considered seriously injured. State Route 8 northbound was closed for two and a half hours during the evening rush hour.

• High Wind52 kt wind09/15/2008

  Summit

  $20M damage

  What happened

  High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike began during the early evening hours of September 14th and continued through late evening. Peak wind gusts were estimated to be around 60 mph with the strongest winds occurring between 6 and 8 pm. A peak measured gust of 55 mph was recorded by an automated sensor at the Akron-Canton Airport at 6:53 PM EDT. Damage in the county was extensive with thousands of trees and many utility poles downed. Widespread power outages occurred with some customers without power for several days. Homes and buildings were damaged throughout the county. The damage ranged from a few shingles torn off to significant structural damage caused by fallen trees landing on roofs. Numerous vehicles were damaged by fallen trees and limbs and also from flying debris. This storm hampered travel as downed trees and power lines forced the closure of many roads. Substantial clean up costs were incurred by local governments. In Summit County alone, local government agencies spent nearly $1.5 million on cleanup costs. Over 450 schools in the county were forced to close on Monday the 15th because of the power outages.

• Lake-Effect Snow11/12/2019

  Summit

  1 death, 5 injured, $1.2M damage

  What happened

  On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in...

• Flash Flood07/10/2013

  Barberton, Summit County

  $15M damage

  What happened

  Torrential rainfall on July 10th ended the streek of 13 days of measurable rain in the Barberton-Norton region, and ending it with the highest rainfall amounts measuring during that time. Almost seven inches of rain fell in the two weeks prior, and on the 10th rainfall amounts in the basin measured between 2 to 3 inches which fell in the hour between 230 and 330 PM. This extreme rainfall rate fell over already saturated ground and swollen stream and creeks, resulting in rapid runoff and flooding. Heavy rainfall of this magnitude overwhelmed the existing stormwater systems with extensive street flooding throughout Barberton. In many areas of Barberton the flooded streets drained within a few hours leaving many flooded basements, garages and yards. After the flash flooding had stopped, the upstream routed water caused the flood waters to continue a slow rise in Barberton. These areas began flooding during the night of July 10 and by the morning of July 11th flooding was reaching into new areas. Flood waters in most areas receded by Sunday July 14th leaving behind large areas of the City needing clean-up operations. The City estimates that over 700 buildings suffered some form...

• Akron City PwsServes 280,000 · Surface water · Local government1 health violation
• Cuyahoga Falls City PwsServes 51,114 · Groundwater · Local government1 health violation+4 monitoring or reporting
• Stow Public Water SystemServes 35,437 · Purchased surface water · Private1 health violation+2 monitoring or reporting
• Barberton CityServes 31,298 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Tallmadge City PwsServes 18,394 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+2 monitoring or reporting
• Hudson City PwsServes 8,385 · Groundwater · Local government1 health violation+2 monitoring or reporting
• Munroe Falls City PwsServes 5,042 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Lakemore Village PwsServes 3,068 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+5 monitoring or reporting