Lake-Effect Snow — Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

2022-11-16 to 2022-11-17 · Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Cold air spilled into the region and across Lake Erie on November 16th, allowing lake effect snow to develop in a west to east band into Erie County. This band was initially light and mixed with rain at times, limiting accumulations through most of the afternoon. More appreciable accumulations began occurring during the late afternoon and early evening in northern Erie County as the band intensified and changed to all snow. Snow rates became heavy by late evening across northern Erie County. The heaviest snow pushed inland into the morning hours of November 17th, leading to a significant slowing of the snow or even breaks across northern Erie County. One more organized band of snow developed and lifted northeast across Erie County during the afternoon hours, before exiting to the north by the evening. Snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour occurred in the heart of the intense lake effect snow from the late evening on November 16th into the early morning of November 17th, with rates briefly exceeding 1' per hour again as snow re-organized during the afternoon hours of the 17th. This heavy snow resulted in low visibility and snowy travel conditions on area roadways. I-90 eastbound was closed between Exits 9 and 16 for a time during the morning hours of November 17th due to a multi-vehicle accident. Luckily, no injuries were reported. Erie International Airport measured 13.1' of snow. Other totals include trained spotters measuring 12.4' in Girard and 8.6' in Lake City. A CoCoRAHS observer also measured 7.3' in North East.

Wider weather episode

Cold air spilled into the region and across Lake Erie on November 16th, allowing lake effect snow to develop in a west to east band into Erie County. This band was initially mixed with rain at times, limiting accumulations through most of the afternoon. More appreciable accumulations began occurring during the late afternoon and early evening in Erie County as the band intensified and changed to all snow. Snow rates became heavy by late evening across northern Erie County, with the band pushing inland into southern Erie County and northern Crawford County after midnight. Snow continued to push south across Crawford County overnight, before snow rates significantly diminished into the morning of November 17th. One more organized band of snow developed and lifted northeast across Erie County and northern Crawford County during the afternoon hours, before exiting to the north by evening. Snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour occurred in the heart of the intense lake effect snow from the late evening on November 16th into the early morning of November 17th with rates briefly exceeding 1' per hour again as snow re-organized during the afternoon hours of the 17th. This heavy snow resulted in low visibility and snowy travel conditions on area roadways. Luckily, the heaviest snow occurred overnight, though I-90 was closed near Springfield Township due to multiple vehicle accidents along the roadway during the morning hours of the 17th. No injuries were reported. The highest recorded snowfall of the event was 16' in Greenfield Township. Other selection snowfall totals include: 15.2' in Colt Station, 14.1' in Springboro Township, 13.1' at Erie International Airport and in Cherry Hill, 13.0' in Spring Township, 12.4' in Girard and 11' in Edinboro.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1073135. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.