Lake-Effect Snow — Lake, Ohio

2023-11-27 to 2023-11-29 · Lake, Ohio

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. 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, with very difficult travel conditions along I-90. Early morning footage from news broadcasts showed disabled vehicles and deep snow cover on the interstate, especially east of Mentor. Lake effect lost some organization during the daylight hours on November 28th but continued accumulating through that evening before shifting out of the area by midnight. The heaviest snowfall generally occurred in the eastern half of Lake County. Multiple trained spotters in Madison measured 12.5 to 12.8' of snow with this storm. Elsewhere, spotters reported 8.7' in Concord Township, 7' in Painesville and 6' in Kirtland Hills.

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, keeping most of the snow out over the lake. 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 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. Extensive impacts to the morning commute occurred in the Cleveland metro area on November 28th. 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 16.5' was measured by a trained spotter in Jefferson Township. Several other locations measured over a foot of snow, including Harpersfield Township, Pierpont, Rock Creek, and Thompson. Amounts of over 6' were measured as far west as Cuyahoga County, with 7' measured in Pepper Pike and Chagrin Falls.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1148685. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.