Winter Storm — Stark, Ohio

2008-03-07 to 2008-03-08 · Stark, Ohio

Event narrative

Snow began during the morning hours of the 7th and continued through the day. During the afternoon hours the snow became moderate at times with visibilities dropping to less than a half mile at times. The snow tapered to flurries during the evening hours. Also, snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain. This was short lived though as the precipitation became all snow again through the overnight hours into the 8th. The snow was moderate to heavy especially during the late morning and early afternoon hours of the 8th. Wind gusts between 25 and 35 mph caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow across the area. Numerous accidents were reported, along with stranded vehicles. Snowfall totals for this event ranged from 12 to 20 inches across the area with 19.0 inches measured in Massillon.

Wider weather episode

On the morning of March 7th, low pressure was located along the Gulf Coast States. Snow spread into the region during the morning and afternoon hours, then tapered off a bit during the evening and overnight into the 8th. Snow intensified across the area as low pressure moved north into the Carolinas by the morning of the 8th. Snow persisted across much of the area, but did mix with sleet and freezing rain at times across far eastern Ohio. By the evening hours of the 8th, snow began tapering off from west to east. Any areas of mixed precipitation across far eastern Ohio changed back to snow before ending. The low pressure continued intensifying as it moved into New England by the morning hours of the 9th. Some light snow and flurries persisted overnight, mainly from around Cleveland and points east, but by midday on the 9th the snow tapered off across the entire area. Throughout this event, locations across northwest Ohio picked up between 5.0 and 10.0 inches. Those locations experienced a rather steep gradient for snowfall totals. In eastern Ohio, snowfall amounts were slightly lower as sleet and freezing rain mixed in at times causing reduced snowfall amounts. Locations across northeast and north-central Ohio saw the greatest snowfall amounts with 21.5 inches in Broadview Heights in Cuyahoga County, and 21.0 inches in Galion located in Crawford County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 89564. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.