News: Two new shipwrecks found in Lake Erie

By WKYC Reporter Mike O'Mara

LAKE ERIE -- The Black Friday storm of 1893 was horrific. On October 13th, the three masted schooner "Riverside" headed out from the quarry dock at Kelly's Island loaded with 670 tons of stone. The sailboat disappeared in 20-foot waves.

125 years later, underwater explorers David VanZandt and Tom Kowalczyk found the "Riverside" sitting on the bottom of the lake in 80 feet of water.

Tom Kowalczyk said, "As it started to take shape on the sonar display and define itself, I said 'Dave, we got it. This is it.'"

Despite challenging visibility, the two were able to dive on the wreck several times. They could see the windlass used to bring up the big anchors. The fore mast was just a stub, with the rest ripped away in the storm. There were pad eyes for the rigging staring out from the bottom of the lake.

"All the deck hardware is still there, David VanZandt said. "The rigging is still there, and it's in pristine condition."

Christopher Gillcrist, the Executive Director for the Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion said, "People forget that the Great Lakes are as bad as any ocean on earth. The waves might not get as big as the North Atlantic, but they come quickly and they can overwhelm a boat just as easily."

A few miles away, the team also found the schooner, "Plymouth," buried under three feet of mud. The 101-foot sailboat had been rammed by the steamer, "Northern Indiana" on June 22, 1852.

Experts say 300 wrecks have already been found in Lake Erie with another 500 still missing. The team from Cleveland Underwater Explorers plans to return to the hunt next summer.

Said Kowalczyk, "We're eager to get out there and say this is the time and this is the one. We're going to go out and find another shipwreck next year."

For more information contact the Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion at 1.800.893.1485 x 3.

The Society will be raffling off 3 trips aboard a Great Lakes freighter at the "Treasures on the Lakes" benefit on November 8, 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio. Visit www.inlandseas.org for more details on each prize.

News: It's Beginning To Look Like Winter in Portage County

AURORA -- It's not even Halloween and the folks in Portage County may feel like they've been tricked by Mother Nature.

This morning, people in Aurora had to dig out the shovels, scrapers and snow blowers after the area received 2-3 inches of snow.

Some say they were surprised by the early white stuff, others took it right in stride.

A caller from Mantua contacted WKYC to say they had 5 inches of snow on the ground. According to the village's police department, they have had one report of a branch coming down from the weight of the snow onto a person's house. The department puts the accumulation at 3-4 inches.

The weather isn't done yet. It's still snowing over parts of the county.

PHOTOGALLERY
To see pictures from Portage County: CLICK HERE

WEATHER VIDEO

News: Time to "Fall" Behind This Saturday Night

Don't forget this Saturday Night, it's the end of Daylight Saving Time and the beginning of Standard Time.

Before you head to bed on Saturday, be sure to set your time pieces back one hour. Otherwise, you may be a little early to your functions on Sunday morning.

History of Daylight Time in the U.S.

Although standard time in time zones was instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads in 1883, it was not established in U.S. law until the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act. The act also established daylight saving time, a contentious idea then. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law. Daylight time became a local matter.

It was re-established nationally early in World War II, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 30 September 1945. After the war its use varied among states and localities. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance. The act provided that daylight time begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.

During the "energy crisis" years, Congress enacted earlier starting dates for daylight time. In 1974, daylight time began on 6 January and in 1975 it began on 23 February. After those two years the starting date reverted back to the last Sunday in April. In 1986, a law was passed that shifted the starting date of daylight time to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987. The ending date of daylight time was not subject to such changes, and remained the last Sunday in October. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed both the starting and ending dates. Beginning in 2007, daylight time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

Source: The U.S. Naval Observatory

Video: Snow in Cleveland Heights on 10/27/08

A taste of winter in Cleveland Heights by WKYC Photojournalist Dan Keefe on Monday, October 27th, 2008.

Video Photos: First snowfall in Cleveland

CLEVELAND -- Our weather warriors are out this evening as parts of the Cleveland area have received their first taste of winter.

The downtown area has seen plenty of thunder and lightning this evening, including sleet right along the lakeshore.

To view our photo gallery: CLICK HERE

News: Snow kiddin', early snowflakes fall in Ohio

CHARDON -- Some Ohioans are getting the season's first taste of winter.

Light snowflakes came down this morning in Chardon, northeast of Cleveland. All City Manager Dave Lelko could say was "Oh, no," adding that it's too early for snow.

Ready or not, the National Weather Service says the northeast Ohio snowbelt could receive a few inches of lake-effect snow through tomorrow morning.

News: High winds topple trees, knock out power

DAYTON -- Heavy winds gusting higher than 40 mph have knocked trees into homes and plunged thousands of southwestern Ohio houses into the dark.

The windy weather blew through the region on Sunday evening.

Dayton Power and Light Co. operations director Mark Vest says about 6,000 customers lost power, but he did not say when power would be restored.

A Montgomery County dispatcher says trees fell onto houses in Miamisburg and West Carrollton, but no injuries were reported.

Dispatchers have also received reports of sparking transformers in Trotwood.

About 2.6 million Ohio customers lost power after remnants of Hurricane Ike swept through the state last month, damaging homes and businesses with hurricane-force winds. Seven people were killed.

Viewer Pictures: Autumn in Northeast Ohio

Here are some of the fantastic autumn pictures we have received from Channel 3 Weather Warriors.

Freezing temps: How low did it go?

By Betsy Kling

CLEVELAND -- This morning started with the first freeze of the season.

We had a frosty start to Sunday morning, with many areas hitting near record low temperatures. Heavy frost was reported throughout northern Ohio.

Here are a few low temperature reports from the National Weather Service:

Cleveland: 30 (one away from the record low!)

Akron: 28 (one away from the record low!)

Wooster: 27

Mansfield: 32 (record low is 25)

Lorain: 31

Ashtabula: 26

Findlay: 33

Younstown: 25 (record low is 23)

New Philadelphia: 28

What about your backyard? Post a "comment" below on your low temperature or observations from this morning.

Cold temperatures are expected tonight as well. Be sure to catch Bruce Kalinowski's forecast at 6 and after football later tonight.

News: One month after Ike, Ohioans still clearing debris

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Last month's windstorm continues to generate extra work and extra business in western Ohio as residents and cities clean up the mess.

High winds from Hurricane Ike hit Ohio on Sept. 14, scattering branches and ripping down trees. Demand for some cleanup tools has faded, but residents continue
to buy batteries and chain saws.

Ken Heil says his lawn equipment shop in suburban Dayton is selling five to seven chain saws a day. That's what he usually sells in a week.

He says he's never seen such demand for chain saws.

Employees in nearby Kettering and other cities are working overtime to finish the cleanup.

Source: The Associated Press

News: September near normal in Cleveland; Ike biggest weather event

CLEVELAND -- The month of September turned out to be fairly close to average across Northeast Ohio according to the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Cleveland.

The latest tallies show that the month saw its highest temperature of 92 degrees on September 3rd. The lowest temperature fell to 47 degrees on both September 11th and September 17th.

Overall, we had an average daily high of 75.5 degrees with an average low of 56.8 degrees. Cleveland was about 2.8 degrees warmer than normal based on a 30 year average.



Rainfall wise, the National Weather Service at Hopkins International Airport recorded 3.79 inches of rainfall for the month with the greatest 24 hour total between September 12th and 13th with 1.34 inches. Our total monthly average is 3.77 inches, putting us near normal this year.

The only notable weather event for the month was the damaging winds caused from the remnants of Hurricane Ike that moved through bringing wind gusts to 54 miles per hour. Though many areas around Clevleand experienced much high winds as the storm past leaving nearly $553.1 million dollars in estimated damage in Ohio alone, according to the insurance industry.

For the latest monthly reports from selected cities around Northeast Ohio, you can choose any of the following links:

CLEVELAND
AKRON/CANTON
MANSFIELD
YOUNGSTOWN
TOLEDO

Insurers: Windstorm costs to rival Xenia tornado

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio insurers say losses from last month's windstorm will rival those from the state's costliest natural disaster of recent decades.

The 1974 tornado that devastated the western Ohio city of Xenia caused about $600 million in damage, according to the Ohio Insurance Institute. The industry group says at least $553.1 million in insured losses were left by remnants of Hurricane Ike, which swept through the state on Sept. 14.

The institute says the windstorm is generating a record number of claims from Ohio home, vehicle and business owners. Twenty-four insurance companies that write policies in the state report they've received roughly 132,000 claims so far.

Insurers say most of the claims have come from the southern half of the state.

On the Net:
*Ohio Insurance Institute: http://www.ohioinsurance.org/

Source: The Associated Press