Lake-Effect Snow — Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

2022-11-19 to 2022-11-20 · Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

A cold front moved through late in the evening November 19th and swung the winds around from southwest to west-northwest. This pushed an intense lake effect snow band that was out over Lake Erie inland into northwestern Pennsylvania. The steadiest and heaviest snowfall occurred from late in the evening on November 19th through the early morning hours of November 20th when snowfall rates in excess of 1' per hour occurred in the core of more intense snow bands. Winds also gusted to 30-40 MPH at times late November 19th through the morning of November 20th, leading to blowing and drifting snow. The snow generally weakened and shifted inland on November 20th, with lingering activity tapering completely by the evening hours. This snowfall created low visibility and poor conditions on area roadways. In particular, I-90 was closed multiple times during the morning hours of November 20th near the township of North East due to accidents involving tractor trailers. Fortunately, no injuries were reported with these accidents. The highest snowfall from this event was 10.5', by a trained spotter in the city of Erie. A trained spotter in Harborcreek also recorded 6.3' of snow.

Wider weather episode

A cold front moved through late in the evening November 19th and swung the winds around from southwest to west-northwest. This pushed an intense lake effect snow band that was out over Lake Erie inland into northwestern Pennsylvania. The steadiest and heaviest snowfall occurred from late in the evening on November 19th through the early morning hours of November 20th when snowfall rates in excess of 1' per hour occurred in the core of more intense snow bands. Winds also gusted over 30 MPH, especially near Lake Erie. Occasional lake effect snow showers continued to produce more gradual accumulations through the afternoon of November 20th before tapering to flurries into the evening hours. This snowfall created low visibility and poor conditions on area roadways, with parts of I-90 closed at times in Erie County due to traffic accidents. The highest snowfall from this event was 10.5', measured by trained spotters both in Edinboro and the city of Erie. Other select reports include trained spotter measurements of 8.9' in Cherry Hill, 8.5' in Greene Township, 9' in Greenfield Township, 7.1' in Colt Station, and 6.5' in North East Township. A cooperative observer measured 7' in Union City, with a CoCoRAHS observer in Corry recording 9.5'.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1073140. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.