Winter Storm — Erie, Ohio

2020-12-01 · Erie, Ohio

Event narrative

Rain changed over to snow during the early afternoon hours of November 30 in North Central Ohio, as low pressure moved just east of the area. During the early morning hours of December 1, heavy, wet snow overspread the region with visibility dropping to one-quarter of a mile or less and snowfall rates up to one inch per hour. Travel was severely disrupted by this storm as heavy snow quickly accumulated on area roadways and any pre-treatment efforts were hampered by rain earlier on November 30. Due to the heavy, wet nature of the snow and only modest wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph, blowing and drifting snow was not a big issue during this event. However, snow easily collected on area trees, especially area evergreen trees, and the weight of the snow allowed for trees to fall onto area roads, power lines, and even some buildings. Schools and several businesses closed on December 1 and 2 due to the weather conditions. In Erie County, snowfall totals ranged from 6 to 11 inches of snow for the event. A peak total of 11.4 inches of snow was observed in Florence Township. Other selected snowfall totals include: 8.2 inches in Berlin Heights, 8 inches in Milan, 7 inches in Huron, 6.3 inches in Castalia, and 6.2 inches in Sandusky.

Wider weather episode

A low pressure system developed over the northern Gulf Coast on the evening of November 29 and moved northeast into the Ohio Valley on November 30. This system deepened considerably as it reached western New York on December 1 before departing into eastern Canada that evening, ending snow across much of the region. As the low tracked northeast towards Pennsylvania on November 30, widespread rain overspread the area, transitioning to snow from west to east through the day. The transition took longer over portions of Northeast Ohio, including the Cleveland metropolitan area, where warmer air held on through the evening hours, preventing snow until late on the 30th. Once the transition from rain to snow occurred overnight, snow was persistent with half inch to one inch per hour snowfall rates of dense, wet snow. Snow accumulation totals that occurred overnight from the 30th into the 1st were 4 to 12 inches of synoptic snowfall across North Central and Northeast Ohio by Noon. This first round of snow caused considerable issues for the morning commute on December 1 with numerous vehicle incidents and schools were closed across the region. As the low departed to the northeast, the snow event transitioned to an efficient lake-enhanced snow event and snow bands focused on the traditional primary and secondary snow belt of Northeast Ohio. Additional accumulations of 4 to 12 inches of new snow occurred during this phase of the event. In the end, widespread snow amounts of 8 to 24 inches fell across Northeast Ohio with the maximum in eastern Cuyahoga, southern Lake, northern Geauga, western Ashtabula counties. The highest snowfall measurement in Ohio was 26.3 inches by a trained snow spotter in Hambden Township in northern Geauga County. Snowfall totals from area climate sites include: 10.1 inches at Cleveland Hopkins Airport, 8.0 inches at Youngstown-Warren Airport, 5.6 inches at Mansfield Lahm Airport, and 3.5 inches at Akron-Canton Airport. The 9.5 inches of snow recorded at Cleveland Hopkins Airport on December 1 was the highest daily total for the official Cleveland climate station since 10.9 inches of snow was recorded on February 4, 2009. While snowfall accumulation had a large impact for travel and business on December 1 during this winter storm, the impacts of the heavy snow load were much more significant and long-lasting across the region. The rain that occurred on November 30 froze on trees and wires when temperatures fell later in the evening. Then, the first phase of the event featured heavy, wet snow with a low snow-to-liquid ratio. This snow stuck quickly to already weighed down trees and power lines, prompting widespread tree damage, particularly to pine trees or any trees with lingering foliage, and numerous power outages. During its peak, there were over 90,000 power outages reported in Ohio, mostly in Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties. Some locations did not have power for one week in early December. There were no known injuries or fatalities in Ohio due to the winter storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 930289. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.