Winter Storm — Geauga, Ohio

2023-12-18 to 2023-12-19 · Geauga, Ohio

Event narrative

Low pressure tracked up the East Coast and into Quebec on December 18th. Behind this low pressure, wrap-around moisture and a series of troughs set off light snow across the region from December 18th into early December 19th. At the same time cold northwest winds picked up moisture off of Lake Erie, leading to moderate to heavy lake enhanced snow southeast of the lake into Geauga County. The heaviest snow occurred between the evening hours of December 18th and the early morning hours of December 19th. Snow rates reached up to 1' per hour at times. The highest snowfall report was 9.2' from a trained spotter in Burton. Other selected amounts include trained spotters measuring 8.2' in Munson Township, 8' in Chesterland and Auburn Township, and 7.2' in Montville. A CoCoRaHS observer reported 8.6' in Middlefield, with a COOP observer measuring 7.5' in Chardon. The moderate to heavy snow was accompanied by wind gusts of 30 to 40 MPH, leading to reduced visibility at times. Roads were snow covered and slick and accidents resulted.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure tracked up the East Coast and into Quebec on December 18th. Behind this low pressure, wrap-around moisture and a series of troughs set off light snow across the region from December 18th into early December 19th. At the same time cold northwest winds picked up moisture off of Lake Erie, leading to moderate to heavy lake enhanced snow southeast of the lake in parts of North Central and Northeast Ohio. The heaviest snow occurred in the higher elevations southeast of Lake Erie between the evening hours of December 18th and the early morning hours of December 19th. Snow rates reached 1' per hour at times with storm total amounts reaching 6 to nearly 10 inches in portions of the primary and secondary snowbelt regions, particularly in higher elevations away from the Lake Erie shoreline. A trained spotter measured 9.5' of snow in Streetsboro, the highest amount from the storm. Other select totals include trained spotters measuring 9.3' in Stow, 9.2' in Burton, 7.5' in Hinckley, 7.5' in Pierpont, and 7.4' in North Royalton. CoCoRaHS observers also reported 8.6' in Middlefield and 8.3' in Kent. The moderate to heavy snow was accompanied by wind gusts of 30 to 40 MPH, leading to reduced visibility at times. Roads were snow covered and slick and accidents resulted.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1153620. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.