Lake-Effect Snow — Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

2023-11-27 to 2023-11-29 · Northern Erie, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Unseasonably cold air flowed over the relatively mild waters of Lake Erie behind a cold front, setting off a significant lake effect snow event beginning November 27th. With initially southwest winds the heaviest snow stayed out over Lake Erie on the 27th, though some accumulations began in the area. As winds shifted west to northwest overnight November 27-28th the lake effect snow intensified and pushed farther inland, leading to the most impactful phase of the event from late in the evening on the 27th into the early morning of the 28th. Snow rates of over 2' per hour were observed within the heart of the lake effect snow bands in this window. Snow-covered roads and low visibility led to traffic accidents. Lake effect lost some organization during the daylight hours on November 28th but continued accumulating through that evening before shifting back out over Lake Erie by early in the morning November 29th. A trained spotter measured 16' of snow in North East Township with this event. 7.6' was measured by a spotter in Lake City with a member of the public reporting 7' of snow in the city of Erie. Amounts quickly increased away from the Lake Erie shoreline.

Wider weather episode

Unseasonably cold air flowed over the relatively mild waters of Lake Erie behind a cold front, setting off a significant lake effect snow event beginning November 27th. The winds were primarily southwesterly on November 27th, confining accumulating snow to locations near Lake Erie along and north of I-90. As winds shifted west to northwest into the morning of November 28th the lake effect snow intensified and spread farther inland, leading to the most impactful phase of the event from late in the evening on the 27th into the early morning of the 28th. Snow rates of over 2' per hour were observed within the heart of the lake effect snow bands in this window. I-90 was closed for over six hours during the early morning hours of November 28th near Girard Township due to a multi-vehicle accident, with copious snow accumulations during the accident clean-up then rendering the highway impassable. Lake effect lost some organization during the daylight hours on November 28th but continued accumulating through that evening before shifting back out over Lake Erie by early in the morning November 29th. A peak snowfall of 17.4' was measured by a trained spotter in Venango Township. Spotters also reported 16' in North East and Edinboro, with other spotter reports in excess of a foot in Greenfield Township, Cherry Hill, Waterford and Union City.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1148680. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.