Winter Weather — Erie, Ohio

2020-11-30 · Erie, Ohio

Event narrative

Rain changed over to snow during the afternoon of November 30 and snow began accumulating over Erie County. This snow continued into December 1, when significant accumulations and impacts occurred. Please see the December 1 Winter Storm Write-Up for Erie County for additional details of this event.

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 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 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 930290. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.