Winter Storm — Lake, Ohio

2008-03-04 to 2008-03-05 · Lake, Ohio

Event narrative

A mixture of sleet and snow began in Lake County before daybreak on March 4th. This mixture quickly changed to freezing rain which then continued into the early morning hours of March 5th. Conditions quickly deteriorated after sunset as surface temperatures dropped off a few degrees. Over a quarter inch of ice accumulation was reported on roads and sidewalks by early evening. By the time the freezing rain changed to light snow during the early morning hours of the 5th, as much as three quarters of an inch of ice had accumulated on parts of the county. Thunder and lightning were reported between 7 and 9 pm. The snow tapered to flurries during the morning hours of the 5th after an inch or two of accumulation. Widespread power outages occurred across Lake County as a result of the freezing rain. Some electric customers in Madison and Leroy Townships were without power for as much as four days. Extensive tree damage was reported in the county as well. Many accidents were reported during this event.

Wider weather episode

During the early morning hours of March 4th, low pressure was located over the lower Mississippi Valley. Precipitation began spreading into the area during the early morning hours of the 4th. Most locations across the area had surface temperatures at or just below freezing. In contrast, air aloft over the region was above freezing causing precipitation to be mainly in the form of freezing rain. Temperatures through the day didn't rise very much. The freezing rain tapered off in some locations in northern Ohio during the early afternoon. Across far northeast Ohio surface temperatures did rise a little above freezing allowing for a period of just rain during the afternoon hours. As the late afternoon hours approached, freezing rain picked up again and areas seeing just rain saw a change over back to freezing rain. Around sunset the freezing rain began to quickly freeze on roadways. In a short period of time numerous accidents were reported. Also during the evening the freezing rain was actually moderate to heavy at times as trained spotters reported thunder throughout northern Ohio. As the evening progressed colder air aloft built over the area allowing for freezing rain to turn to sleet and back over to snow late on the 4th and into the overnight hours into the 5th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 90717. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.