Winter Storm — Ashtabula Lakeshore, Ohio

2015-02-01 to 2015-02-02 · Ashtabula Lakeshore, Ohio

Event narrative

Snow started during the early morning hours of the 1st. The snow was initially light with accumulations of a couple tenths an hour, but after daybreak the snow intensified. By mid morning visibilities were less than a half mile with snowfall rates of an inch or more per hour. Periods of light to moderate snow continued on the 2nd with the snow finally ending during the early evening hours. Strong northeast to northwest winds accompanied the precipitation with gusts in excess of 25 mph for much of the storm. This caused considerable blowing and drifting. A peak total of 10.0 inches of snow was reported at Conneaut. Travel was severely disrupted by this storm. Roads in rural areas were nearly impassable at times. Schools were closed over most of the area on the 2nd.

Wider weather episode

An area of low pressure developed over the Central Plains early on February 1st. The low then moved rapidly northeast toward the Ohio Valley eventually crossing southern Ohio during the evening of the 1st and early morning hours of the 2nd. Snow associated with the low started in northwestern Ohio around midnight on the 1st. By daybreak the snow had spread to the northeastern corner of the state. The snow was initially light with accumulations of a couple tenths an hour, but after daybreak the snow intensified. By mid morning visibilities were less than a half mile with snowfall rates of an inch or more per hour. The snow lessened toward evening as warmer air spread north into the region ahead of the low. The snow changed or mixed with freezing rain or sleet for a time south and southeast of Cleveland during the late evening and early morning hours before switching back to all snow. In Northwest Ohio the snow tapered off during the morning of the 2nd but another round of moderate to heavy snow occurred further east as wrap around moisture on the backside of the low reached the region. The snow ended in the Cleveland area by mid afternoon and in far northeastern Ohio by early evening. Strong northeast to northwest winds accompanied the precipitation with gusts in excess of 25 mph for much of the storm. This caused considerable blowing and drifting. Six or more inches of snow fell along and north of a line from near Findlay to Akron to just north of Youngstown. A swath of a foot of more of snow stretched from Bowling Green in Wood County eastward along the south shore of Lake Erie and into Northeast Ohio. A few of the higher totals included: 15.5 inches near Waterville in Lucas County, 12.2 inches at Toledo Express Airport also in Lucas County: 13.5 inches northeast of Bowling Green in Wood County; 14.0 inches south of Oak Harbor in Sandusky County; 11.0 inches in Ottawa County; 12.0 inches at Milan in Erie County; 12.0 inches at Bellevue in Huron County, 11.5 inches south of Lorain; 13.7 inches at Beachwood in Cuyahoga County; 12.0 inches at South Madison in Geauga County; 13.3 inches near Kirtland in Lake County; 12.6 inches at Pierpoint in Ashtabula County; 9.3 inches at Twinsburg in Summit County; 8.9 inches near Streetsboro in Portage County and 8.7 inches at Newton Falls in Trumbull County. In addition, a coating of ice was reported from Cleveland east and south. Travel was severely disrupted by this storm. Roads in rural areas were nearly impassable at times. Schools were closed over most of the area on the 2nd. This was the biggest snow storm in several years for most of the area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 562764. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.