Lake-Effect Snow — Southern Erie, Pennsylvania

2024-01-16 · Southern Erie, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Cold southwesterly winds shifted westerly during the daytime hours on January 16th, briefly shifting an intense lake effect snow band impacting western New York south into northern Erie County, Pennsylvania. This event was short-lived with snow shifting north and back into New York by early that evening. The heavy snow was confined to locations near and north of I-90. However, snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour occurred for a few hours under the heart of the lake effect band across northern portions of Erie County. Selected reports from trained spotters include 7.2 inches in North East township, 6.5 inches in Greenfield Township and 5 inches in Greene Township. Visibilities below one-quarter of a mile and snow covered roads led to hazardous travel conditions and accidents during the heaviest snow.

Wider weather episode

Cold southwesterly winds shifted westerly during the daytime hours on January 16th, briefly shifting an intense lake effect snow band impacting western New York south into northern Erie County, Pennsylvania. This event was short-lived with snow shifting north and back into New York by early that evening. However, snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour occurred for a few hours under the heart of the lake effect band across northern portions of Erie County. The heaviest snow amount reported was 7.2 inches in North East township by a trained spotter. Other selected spotter reports include 6.5 inches in Greene Township, 6.1 inches in the city of Erie and 6 inches in Lake City.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1161352. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.