The Lake Erie Hurricane of 2016 (Sassmaster15)

On August 24, what would be one of the most devastating storms in Ohio history would develop and wreak havoc for the millions of people who reside in northern Ohio. This storm would even be more destructive than the EF5 tornado that struck Xenia in 1974, and that was considered the most destructive storm in Ohio history until this moment.

Lake Erie has a reputation for producing some very strong thunderstorms in northern Ohio, which is why so many people living along the lakeshore have an acute "sixth sense" for when it comes to sensing trouble stirred up by the lake, and when this storm formed, it was no different.

TO BE FINISHED SOON.

Meteorological History
On August 24, a low-pressure system had moved eastward, out of Michigan, and arrived over the warm waters of Lake Erie. In Michigan, the low had produced strong winds and severe storms, so emerging over the lake allowed the system to gain strength and be more destructive in the future. Within a few days, the size of the system had almost tripled and winds were sustained at 85 MPH, however, the storm was stalled over Lake Erie, due to low upper-level winds and a high pressure system stalled over Catham-Kent, Quebec. This type of stalling behavior normally kills a storm, but, the warm, moist air over the lake allowed the system to continue strengthening. And strengthen it did. By September 2, the storm was relatively small in size but was deadlier than a Category 5 hurricane. The storm was still stalled near Kelleys Island, but fifteen-foot waves stirred up from the extremely low pressure and damaging winds pounded along the shoreline to Erie, PA, nearly 60 miles away from the islands, causing severe flooding. The next day, the storm started moving again, putting Kelleys Island under twenty feet of water. Later that night, the powerful storm made landfall in Sandusky, Ohio, home of the famed and legendary Cedar Point. However, what was supposed to be a day of fun turned into a day of terror when waves pounded the peninsula, causing much flooding and ground-level destruction. The 190 MPH winds were strong enough to twist and deform metal structures, and a few of Cedar Point's coasters suffered. At the precise moment a train on the Magnum XL-200 roller coaster had finished ascending the lift hill, a 200 MPH gust of wind blew the train straight off the track. The winds also blew down a section of support structure on the 310 FT tall Millennium Force roller coaster, collapsing a section of track on the ride. Finally, one of the Cedar Point's wooden roller coasters, the Mean Streak, which sits right on the beach, collapsed under the intense low-pressure and immense winds and waves from the storm. After this, a Day of Terror at Cedar Point was finished.

The next major target of the storm's fury was Cleveland, Ohio, a major city that sits on the coast of Lake Erie.