Lake-Effect Snow — Ashtabula Lakeshore, Ohio

2016-12-14 to 2016-12-16 · Ashtabula Lakeshore, Ohio

Event narrative

A cold front moved across northern Ohio on December 14th. Cold westerly winds behind the front caused lake effect snow showers to develop by late evening on the 14th. The winds initially had a slight southerly component so the initial snow showers developed along the Lake Erie shoreline from around Painesville up the lake to near Conneaut. Winds became due west by midnight on the 15th and eventually west northwest. As this occurred the snow showers spread slowly inland. By 1 am on the 15th a band of intense lake effect snow stretched from northeastern Lorain County across Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties and into southern Ashtabula County. The band drifted very, very slowly south the next several hours. It reached Cleveland Hopkins around 6 am causing visibilities to drop to a half mile just as the morning push of aircraft were scheduled to depart. The band eventually sagged south into northern Medina and northern Summit counties were it finally dissipated. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches were reported from this band during the middle of the night. This heavy snow caused major traffic issues in the Cleveland Metro area with many accident and long delays for the morning commute. Winds gusted to as much as 30 mph during the morning event causing much blowing and drifting and further reducing visibilities. A second round of the lake effect began to develop late in the afternoon of the 15th. The focus for these snow showers was mainly Lake County but Geauga and Ashtabula Counties were also impacted. By 9 pm an intense band of snow bisected Lake County and stretched into northern Geauga County. The band persisted for several hours before finally dissipating during the early morning hours of the 16th. This band also had snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. The morning snow showers produced a swath of 6 to 8 inches of snow with similar totals from the evening snow showers. In Ashtabula County a peak of 11.9 inches was reported at Pierpont with most of it falling during the early morning. Other totals from Ashtabula County include 10.3 inches in Monroe Township with 9.5 inches at Jefferson and 7.2 inches at Roaming Shores. In Lake County 8.2 inches fell at Mentor with 8.0 inches at South Madison. Many schools were delayed or closed on the 15th.

Wider weather episode

A cold front moved across northern Ohio on December 14th. Cold westerly winds behind the front caused lake effect snow showers to develop by late evening on the 14th. The winds initially had a slight southerly component so the initial snow showers developed along the Lake Erie shoreline from around Painesville up the lake to near Conneaut. Winds became due west by midnight on the 15th and eventually west northwest. As this occurred the snow showers spread slowly inland. By 1 am on the 15th a band of intense lake effect snow stretched from northeastern Lorain County across Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties and into southern Ashtabula County. The band drifted very, very slowly south the next several hours. It reached Cleveland Hopkins around 6 am causing visibilities to drop to a half mile just as the morning push of aircraft were scheduled to depart. The band eventually sagged south into northern Medina and northern Summit counties were it finally dissipated. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches were reported from this band during the middle of the night. This heavy snow caused major traffic issues in the Cleveland Metro area with many accident and long delays for the morning commute. Winds gusted to as much as 30 mph during the morning event causing much blowing and drifting and further reducing visibilities. A second round of the lake effect began to develop late in the afternoon of the 15th. The focus for these snow showers was mainly Lake County but Geauga and Ashtabula Counties were also impacted. By 9 pm an intense band of snow bisected Lake County and stretched into northern Geauga County. The band persisted for several hours before finally dissipating during the early morning hours of the 16th. This band also had snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. The morning snow showers produced a swath of 6 to 8 inches of snow with similar totals from the evening snow showers. Some of the higher totals in Cuyahoga County include: 8.5 inches at Lakewood, 8.0 inches in Garfield Heights with 7.8 inches at Kamm's Corners. In Geauga County a peak of 8.8 inches was measured at Chardon with 8.0 inches at the opposite end of the county near Chagrin Falls. In Ashtabula County a peak of 11.9 inches was reported at Pierpont with most of it falling during the early morning. Other totals from Ashtabula County include 10.3 inches in Monroe Township with 9.5 inches at Jefferson and 7.2 inches at Roaming Shores. In Lake County 8.2 inches fell at Mentor with 8.0 inches at South Madison. In Lorain County, a peak total of around 7 inches was reported in the northeastern tip of county. Many schools were delayed or closed on the 15th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 668702. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.