National Weather Service Confirms Thursday Night Tornado East of Downtown Cleveland

As Northeast Ohio cleans up from the damaging and dangerous storms that rolled through the area late Thursday night and early Friday morning, the National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down in Cleveland just east of downtown at 11:59 p.m. and brought peak 110 mph winds for three minutes along a 0.8-mile path.

Damage in the area included a large portion of the roof of the New Life Cavalry Church at Euclid and East 79th being blown off.

Possible Tornado Damage Downtown Cleveland! Calvary Baptist Church on Euclid Ave lost it's roof and steeple. debris scattered south and east of building. @WEWS @NWSCLE pic.twitter.com/WSJYnMx6Sh
— The REAL Mark Johnson (@MarkJWeather) August 25, 2023

NWS also noted in its initial report that, “Multiple light poles were bent near the base” in a shopping center and further east.

The twister touched down near East 71st and Chester and ran a southeasterly route to the Cleveland Clinic area at East 89th and Euclid.

Clevelanders received a tornado warning push alert from the NWS just before midnight, advising residents to seek shelter in basements.

Following the previous day’s near-record rainfall across the area, last night’s storms downed trees, damaged property, and left nearly 145,000 without power overnight, with some still waiting for service on Friday morning. Many were still recovering from flooding and other storm-related issues from the previous day, with downpours that closed freeways and brought water to basements across the region.

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