Southern Erie storm history

Rain changed over to snow during the early morning hours of December 1 in Northwest Pennsylvania, as low pressure moved just east of the area. By daybreak, heavy, wet snow overspread the region with visibility dropping to one-quarter of a mile or less and snowfall rates up to one…

An historic lake effect snow storm impacted Erie County on December 24th through the 27th. A 24 hour Pennsylvania snowfall record of 50.8 inches is believed to have been set during the period from 7 am on the 25th through 7 am on the 26th at Erie International Airport. The airpor…

Following a strong cold front that crossed on November 26th, much colder air flowed in and allowed significant lake-effect snow to develop. This snow was initially carried into western New York by southwest winds, but gradually shifted south and west into the snowbelt region of N…

Low pressure moved across Pennsylvania on November 9th, before shifting east into New England and lingering through the 10th and 11th. Behind this low, a lingering trough and an early season blast of cold air combined with northwest winds to bring accumulating lake effect snow. T…

A surface trough developed over the Great Lakes on February 20th and lingered into February 21st before surface high pressure worked into the region. The trough focused cold, west-northwest flow across the partially unfrozen waters of Lake Erie, allowing for lake effect snow into…

Deepening low pressure tracked into the upper Ohio Valley the morning of February 16th, before the low pressure transferred to off the east coast that afternoon and evening. This allowed for a period of rain changing to accumulating wet snow as the low pressure lifted into the Oh…

A trough of surface low pressure was draped west to east across the southern Great Lakes January 14th and 15th, with cold west-northwest winds wrapping around this trough and over Lake Erie. This set the stage for a period of moderate to heavy lake effect snow into Erie County. T…

Amid cold northwesterly flow behind a large area of low pressure over the Canadian Maritimes, a surface trough developed across the southern Great Lakes January 8th into early January 9th. This feature helped focus moderate to heavy lake effect snow downwind of Lake Erie and into…

Behind a cold front that crossed early in the morning on January 3, 2025, west-northwest winds ushered in colder air across Lake Erie, setting up another round of lake effect snow showers and squalls across Northwest Pennsylvania. The lake effect activity was most intense from la…

As low pressure intensified over Upstate New York early on January 1st it pulled cold air in behind it, allowing rain to transition to snow. This initial snow behind the low pressure resulted in several inches of wet snow accumulation across the higher elevations in southern Erie…

A 64 MPH wind gust was measured at 931 PM at Meadville Airport. A 58 MPH wind gust was measured at 1128 PM at Erie International Airport. Some downed trees and powerlines were reported in the area.

An arctic cold front blasted through Northwest Pennsylvania during the early morning hours of December 5th, accompanied by a band of moderate to heavy snow showers and gusty winds up to 40 MPH. Lake effect snow quickly developed into the morning of the 5th as winds shifted more n…

After a brief break in the lake effect during much of the day and into the night of November 30th, lake effect returned by early in the morning December 1st as winds shifted out of the west-northwest, directing lake effect bands back onshore across Erie County. Lake effect snow, …

A prolonged, crippling, and in some places historic lake effect event took place across the Northwest Pennsylvania snowbelt to end November and start December in 2024. The event ramped up overnight November 28th and 29th as a band of very heavy snow with snow rates up to 3 inches…

As low pressure deepened over the New England states, cold northwest flow, wrap around moisture, a series of surface troughs and lake enhancement led to accumulating snow. Portions of southern Erie County received heavy snow from this event. A CoCoRaHS observer measured 11 inches…

A weak clipper moved across the Ohio Valley on January 19th bringing light snow to the region. As the clipper progressed east into the 20th it intensified off the East Coast as cold air poured into the region. The light snow with the clipper on January 19th was enhanced by moistu…

Cold southwesterly winds shifted westerly during the daytime hours on January 16th, briefly shifting an intense lake effect snow band impacting western New York south into northern Erie County, Pennsylvania. This event was short-lived with snow shifting north and back into New Yo…

At 7:06 PM, Erie International Airport measured a 69 MPH wind gust. These wind gusts caused downed trees and power-lines across the county with over 3000 customers losing power.

Low pressure tracked up the East Coast and into Quebec on December 18th. Behind this low pressure, wrap-around moisture and a series of troughs set off light snow across the region from December 18th into early December 19th. At the same time cold northwest winds picked up moistu…

Unseasonably cold air flowed over the relatively mild waters of Lake Erie behind a cold front, setting off a significant lake effect snow event beginning November 27th. With initially southwest winds the heaviest snow stayed out over Lake Erie on the 27th, though some accumulatio…

An area of low pressure tracked out of the Ohio Valley and through the southern Great Lakes on March 10th, passing just south of Erie, PA during the afternoon hours. A swath of accumulating snow occurred to the north of this low pressure, with a narrow band of heavy snow impactin…

An Arctic cold front swept through the area around 4 AM December 23rd. Low pressure along this front tracked over Lake Erie early in the morning on December 23rd and rapidly intensified through the day while slowly lifting northeast across Ontario. With the frontal passage rain c…

Wind chills plunged below 0 around 8 AM December 23rd and did not warm above 0 until midday December 26th. A minimum wind chill of -30 degrees was reported at 2:51 PM December 23rd at Erie International Airport. A weather station in Edinboro recorded a wind chill of -33 degrees a…

A cold front moved through late in the evening November 19th and swung the winds around from southwest to west-northwest. This pushed an intense lake effect snow band that was out over Lake Erie inland into northwestern Pennsylvania. The steadiest and heaviest snowfall occurred f…

Southwesterly winds were initially carrying an intense band of lake effect snow towards Buffalo, NY, but briefly shifted more westerly during the afternoon and early evening hours of November 18th. This pushed heavy snow onshore into Erie County Pennsylvania for several hours. Th…

Cold air spilled into the region and across Lake Erie on November 16th, allowing lake effect snow to develop in a west to east band into Erie County. This band was initially light and mixed with rain at times, limiting accumulations through most of the afternoon. More appreciable…

A wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain developed during the evening hours on February 17th and continued for several hours before changing to snow. Snow continued steadily through much of the night before tapering to more intermittent lake effect snow showers through the morning…

A prolonged winter storm occurred from early February 3rd through early February 4th, 2022 as multiple waves of low pressure tracked along a slow moving cold front. Rain changed to snow shortly before midnight February 3rd as temperatures fell below freezing. Snow continued off a…

Several bands of lake effect snow developed over the eastern basin of Lake Erie on January 25 and remained fairly unorganized as they pushed into western New York. Some colder air moved into the region during the evening hours and convergence over the lake allowed these bands to …

Snow began during the evening hours of January 16, quickly increasing in intensity during the overnight hours. Many locations woke up to a foot or more of snow on the morning of January 17, causing impassable roads across the area. Lake enhanced snowfall continued across the area…

As a low pressure system departed the region on January 6th, a strong surge of cold air poured across Lake Erie and allowed for some lake-enhanced snow across Northwest Pennsylvania. Eventually, the snow became a pure lake effect snow event with a west-southwest to east-northeast…

Above normal temperatures in March and above normal to record high temperatures in early April in Northwest Pennsylvania allowed for area fruit crops to begin budding ahead of schedule in April. A low pressure system brought several rounds of snow to the region on April 20-21 and…

Downed trees along Cherry Hill Road in Albion.

Three rounds of snow moved through Northwest Pennsylvania on February 15 and 16. The first round on the morning of the 15th brought a quick inch of snow to the region. A second round of snow entered during the afternoon and evening hours, bringing an additional 2 to 6 inches of s…

Light lake effect snow developed over Lake Erie and pushed over Northwest Pennsylvania during the early evening hours of January 19. A shortwave trough entered the region and enhanced this lake effect snow late on the 19th into the 20th and a brief period of one inch per hour sno…

A surface trough over the eastern Great Lakes region allowed for light lake effect snow showers to develop during the late afternoon on January 17th. As colder air aloft and better surface convergence developed over eastern Lake Erie, lake effect snow became more organized into a…

Snow quickly entered Northwest Pennsylvania during the late afternoon hours on the 24th. By the evening hours, snowfall rates increased to one inch per hour as more organized snow bands moved through the region on the northwest side of the low pressure system. After midnight on t…

Low pressure over the Ohio Valley on the evening of the 26th moved northeast across the central Appalachians, bringing some system snowfall to the region on the night of the 26th into the 27th. As low pressure departed the eastern Great Lakes region on the 27th, wrap-around cold …

Low pressure over the central Appalachians on the 7th moved northeast towards the New England states. On the back side of this low pressure system, a wintry mix of precipitation set up over Northwest Pennsylvania with snow and freezing drizzle, which transitioned completely to sn…

Low pressure over northern Lower Michigan on the afternoon of January 18th moved east through the Great Lakes region and extended a cold front through Northwest Pennsylvania during the evening hours. With the front, scattered snow showers moved over the region, bringing light acc…

Erie News Now reported tree branches were leaning on power lines in Summit Township. Used time of peak gust at the nearby KERI ASOS to estimate the time at which this damage occurred.

A trough of low pressure entered the eastern Great Lakes region on the afternoon of December 10th and allowed for a west-to-east lake effect snow band to set up over portions of Northwest Pennsylvania. This band of snow was relatively short-lived during the evening hours of the 1…

On December 4, weak low pressure moved through the eastern Great Lakes region and extended a cold front across Lake Erie and adjacent Northwest Pennsylvania. The cold air behind this system allowed for lake effect snow to develop and move into Erie County, PA. Snow was largely li…

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Va…

A cold front moved across Northwest Pennsylvania on the afternoon of November 7. A strong push of cold air behind this front allowed for rain to changeover to snow by late afternoon on the 7th. With a warm and wide open Lake Erie, lake effect snow showers developed over Northwest…

Numerous trees, power lines, and power poles were reported down across the entire area, including in Millcreek Township and Edinboro. A tree fell into a home in Elk Creek Township. Millcreek Township School District was closed on the 25th due to power outages on account of the st…

Extremely cold weather settled over the area on January 30 and 31, bringing the coldest temperatures that the region had seen in four or five years. With winds gusting to 30 - 35 mph, wind chills across the county dropped below zero midday on January 29 and did not recover to abo…

A clipper system entered the Great Lakes region on the evening of January 26 and settled just north of Lake Erie by the morning of the 27th, bringing snow into northwest Pennsylvania. As the low departed the region, cold air surged over Lake Erie, allowing for lake effect snow to…

Snow spread into northwestern Pennsylvania during the early afternoon hours of January 19, as low pressure moved into the Ohio Valley region. Snow was very light to start with minor accumulations by the evening hours. The most intense part of the winter storm was during the overn…

A cold front moving through the Great Lakes region late on January 8th, allowed for cold, arctic air to settle over the region for January 9 and 10. Ahead of the front, unseasonably warm temperatures and thunderstorms were present over the region, preventing a quick transition to…