Some Cincinnati neighborhood experienced severe flash flooding again Tuesday afternoon, and the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado in Clermont County. The storms hit about four days after severe weather on Friday impacted homes and businesses.
Flooding in Cincinnati
Dovetale Bakery on Hyde Park Square is one of several businesses impacted twice in just four days.
Jake Shifman's wife Laura Houston co-owns the bakery on Hyde Park Square, which flooded during Friday's storm. He was out Tuesday after the rain cleared, looking at rubber mats and other materials piled in front of the door to keep water out. Several large shop fans sat inside.
He says the business is strategizing ways to avoid flood damage in the future. He says rainwater seems to drain more slowly lately and wonders if there's an issue with the stormwater system nearby.
"We're trying to figure out what's going on," he told WVXU. "We thought Friday was a one-time thing, but then, here we are again."
The flash flooding last week did enter the bakery, he says, but Tuesday wasn't as bad. Other shops a bit down the street, like Neko Sushi, did see flooding, though.
Shifman says the businesses along this side of the square have banded together, sharing resources and tips for trying to mitigate damage from flooding.
Cincinnati Council member Mark Jeffreys posted videos from Edwards Road near Hyde Park Square showing water gushing down the street.
What about the Duck Creek flood gate?
A city spokesperson said in a statement the Stormwater Management Utility closed the Madison Road flood gate at Duck Creek at about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
"The action was taken out of an abundance of caution due to weather forecasts calling for additional rain," the statement said. "Traffic is blocked in both directions at the floodgate, which will remain closed until further notice."
WVXU witnessed the gate's closure, which took about four minutes.
As WVXU previously reported, the flood gate did not close during Friday's severe storm, and the creek overflowed its banks. City officials said they are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to investigate whether the gate failed.
The gate was installed in 2008 by the Army Corps of Engineers, along with a system of traffic control railroad arms designed to prevent vehicles from entering high water or driving into the gate when closed.
The city took over operation of the gate in 2012, according to a report commissioned by the city and completed in late 2020.
"Gate operations at Madison Road are dependent on water level readings in Duck Creek," the report reads.
At one level of elevation, the system drops the railroad arms and sounds an alarm warning traffic not to enter the area. At a slightly higher of elevation, the flood gate closes and the city is alerted. Once the water goes down, the flood gate has to be manually reopened.
The report indicates the city had not experienced any "notable problems" with the deployment of the flood gate, but also noted the gate had not been activated since the city took over operations (from 2012 until the report's publication in 2020). WVXU has requested information about whether the gate has ever been activated over the past six years.
"Railroad arms, however, are periodically deployed during non-flood events due to failure of a small transformer located in the power supply in the cross-arm motor box," the report says. "The default condition causes the arms to drop when the transformer fails. When this occurs, city personnel raise the cross arms manually and secure it until the transformer is replaced. Then, a work order is initiated and an electrician dispatched to replace the transformer."
The study that concluded in 2020 was part of a larger analysis that included other flood gates managed by the city's Stormwater Management Utility.
In April 2026, the city put out a project for bid to replace the four crossing gates and flashers. The bid did not include changes to the flood gate itself. Responses were originally due June 15, but the Office of Procurement canceled the request, indicating it would be "republished as a new bid with updated specifications in July, after the City's Procurement and Financial system opens for Fiscal Year 2027."
Clermont County tornado
The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings throughout the area Tuesday, including a "confirmed tornado" at 2:52 p.m. just southwest of Amelia, moving southeast.
The alert indicated tornado debris in the air, confirmed by radar.
Denise Davis was at home with her grandkids when her phone alerted her to a tornado warning.
"I grabbed my two grandbabies, we ran downstairs, we sat there and then it got really windy and the lights kept flickering. And then all of a sudden I heard something loud, and it was the tree."
A tree came down on top of the Ohio Township house, where she and her husband Thomas have lived since 1997 (pictured, above).
"It went through the living room and the kitchen," Thomas said. "And it came through and knocked the ceiling panel off."
The Davis' say the grandkids were scared, but no one was hurt.
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