Winter Storm — Portage, Ohio

2024-01-19 · Portage, Ohio

Event narrative

A weak clipper moved across the Ohio Valley on January 19th bringing light snow to the region. As the clipper progressed east into the 20th it intensified off the East Coast as cold air poured into the region. The snow with the clipper on January 19th was enhanced by moisture picked up off of Lake Erie as colder air poured in, leading to locally heavier snow. There was a period of steadier and at times heavy snow during the afternoon and early evening hours on the 19th when a slow-moving band of lake-enhanced snow drifted across much of Portage County. Snow rates reached 1 to 2 inches per hour at times with visibility occasionally falling below a quarter mile within this heavier lake enhanced snow band. This resulted in very poor travel conditions under these lake enhanced bands with accidents reported. A trained spotter reported 9 inches of snow in Streetsboro. CoCoRaHS observers measured 7 inches of snow in Mantua and 6.2 inches in Kent. The public reported 7 inches of snow in Edinburg. Lake effect snow showers re-developed on January 20th and brought light additional accumulations to northern parts of the county.

Wider weather episode

A weak clipper moved across the Ohio Valley on January 19th bringing light snow to the region. As the clipper progressed east into the 20th it intensified off the East Coast as cold air poured into the region. The light snow with the clipper on January 19th was enhanced by moisture picked up off of Lake Erie as colder air poured in. Continued cold air advection behind the East Coast low into the 20th and early 21st allowed lake effect snow showers to continue, particularly in the higher elevations in the Snowbelt region of extreme Northeast Ohio. The heaviest snow generally occurred during the daytime hours on January 19th in and around the Cleveland area, though the higher terrain of Geauga and Ashtabula Counties saw another period of moderate to heavy lake effect snow showers on the 20th. Snow rates reached 1 to 2 inches per hour at times with visibility occasionally falling below a quarter of a mile, especially in bands of heavy lake enhanced snow on the 19th. A trained spotter reported a prolonged storm total of 21.4 inches in Monroe Township in Ashtabula County. Other select reports include spotters reporting 13.1 inches in Garfield in Cuyahoga County, 12.5 inches in Macedonia in Summit County, 9.7 inches in Elyria in Lorain County and 9 inches in Streetsboro in Portage County. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport measured 6.9 inches of snow with this storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1161419. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.