Winter Storm — Ashtabula Lakeshore, Ohio

2018-03-01 to 2018-03-02 · Ashtabula Lakeshore, Ohio

Event narrative

An area of deepening low pressure moved up the Ohio Valley on March 1st. The low moved across the southeastern corner of Ohio during the afternoon hours. A large area of precipitation fell to the north of the low track. The precipitation initially began as rain but changed to snow during the early evening hours as cold air filtered into the region on the backside of the low. Light to moderate snow then continued for much of the night. The heaviest snow fell during the late evening and early morning hours with visibilities a half mile or less. Winds gusted to more than 45 mph during the event. Peak gusts occurred around 8 pm and included 53 mph at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport and 48 mph at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The snow tapered to flurries a couple hours before daybreak. Wind gusts dropped off quickly after midnight on the 2nd and by daybreak were no more than 20 mph. Accumulations of 6 to 10 inches of snow were reported across Cuyahoga, Summit, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. The strong winds caused a lot of blowing and drifting and made driving difficult. Scattered power outages were also reported from the strong winds. In Ashtabula County a peak total of 11.0 inches was reported in Jefferson with 9.0 inches at both Conneaut and Kellogsville. Other totals from the county included 8.5 inches in Ashtabula; 6.5 inches in Dorset and 6.0 inches south of Geneva. Many accidents were reported.

Wider weather episode

An area of deepening low pressure moved up the Ohio Valley on March 1st. The low moved across the southeastern corner of Ohio during the afternoon hours. A large area of precipitation fell to the north of the low track. The precipitation began as rain but changed to snow during the early evening hours as cold air filtered into the region on the backside of the low. Light to moderate snow then continued for much of the night. The heaviest snow fell during the late evening and early morning hours with visibilities a half mile or less. Winds gusted to more than 45 mph during the event. Peak gusts occurred around 8 pm and included 53 mph at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport and 48 mph at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The snow tapered to flurries in the Cleveland area between 2 and 3 am and ended along the Pennsylvania border just after daybreak. Wind gusts dropped off quickly after midnight on the 2nd and by daybreak were no more than 20 mph. Accumulations of 6 to 10 inches of snow were reported across Cuyahoga, Summit, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. The strong winds caused a lot of blowing and drifting and made driving difficult. Scattered power outages were also reported from the strong winds. Totals from Cuyahoga County included 8.0 inches in Beachwood; 7.1 inches in North Royalton and 6.0 inches in Bedford. Totals from Summit County included 7.0 inches in Akron; 6.8 inches in Fairlawn; 6.1 inches in Cuyahoga Falls and 6.0 inches in Green Township. In Ashtabula County a peak total of 11.0 inches was reported in Jefferson with 9.0 inches at both Conneaut and Kellogsville. Other totals from the county included 8.5 inches in Ashtabula; 6.5 inches in Dorset and 6.0 inches south of Geneva. A peak total of 11.0 inches was reported in Geauga County to the north of Chardon. Other totals from Geauga County included 9.2 inches in Montville Township, 9.0 in Chardon and 6.0 inches at both Burton and Thompson. Many accidents were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 745577. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.