Winter Storm — Crawford, Ohio

2004-12-22 to 2004-12-23 · Crawford, Ohio

Wider weather episode

A record setting winter storm affected northern Ohio on December 22nd and 23rd. The impact and damage caused by this storm has been compared to the Blizzard of January 1978. Low pressure developed over eastern Texas early on the 22nd and then moved quickly northeast. The low eventually tracked across eastern Ohio during the morning hours of the 23rd after dumping nearly two feet of snow on portions of Ohio. The snow began around daybreak on the 22nd and then intensified around midday. Heavy snow with visibilities of a quarter mile or less then persisted into the early morning hours of the 23rd. Snowfall rates much of this time ranged from one to two inches per hour. Winds increased significantly during the evening hours of the 22nd as northerly winds developed on the backside of the low. Gusts to 30 mph caused significant blowing and drifting and near blizzard conditions from Marion County northeastward into Erie and Huron Counties. Drifts several feet deep were reported. Temperatures warmed slightly during the early morning hours of the 23rd as the low moved into southeast Ohio. This caused the snow to first mix with, and then change completely to freezing rain. This change occurred at Mansfield just before 3 a.m. and at Cleveland around 4 a.m. The heaviest freezing rain fell along and west of Interstate 71 between these two cities with over one half inch of ice accumulation over much of this corridor. Snowfall totals ranged from 12 to 18 inches from Marion and Morrow Counties northeast to Erie, Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties. Within that area, there was a narrow band of even heavier snow with greater than 18 inches of accumulation from northern Morrow County across Richland County and into Ashland County. Officially, 23.0 inches of snow was measured at Mansfield Lahm Airport (Richland County) establishing a new all time record snowfall. In addition, 0.57 inches of freezing rain was measured at that location. At Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (Cuyahoga County) a total of 15.5 inches of snow fell along 0.58 inches of freezing rain. The freezing rain significantly compacted the snow and official measurements made by cooperative observers around daybreak likely underestimated the actual snowfall. Had measurements been taken around midnight, reported accumulations would have likely been several inches higher at most locations. The wet and very heavy snow made travel nearly impossible across northern Ohio. Hundreds of accidents were reported and holiday travel for many was not possible. Numerous power outages as a result of the freezing rain were reported. The outages were most widespread in southern portions of Ashland and Richland Counties where some areas were without power for several days. The weight of the heavy snow damaged the roofs of dozens of homes and buildings, several of which had complete roof failures. It took several days for road crews to completely clean up after this event. Damage and clean up costs for this storm were historic with only the Blizzard of 1978 having more financial impact.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5429338. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.