Heavy Snow in Ohio, March 19 to 21, 1996

Name: Heavy Snow in Ohio, March 19 to 21, 1996
Start: 1996-03-19T16:00
End: 1996-03-21T08:00
Location: Ohio

March 19 to 21, 1996 · NWS CLE · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

A late season snow accumulated an average of 5 to 8 inches with blowing and drifting snow. Winds of 30 to 40 mph caused white-out conditions and some rural roads were drifted shut.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 22 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $352,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 22

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS CLE wrote it up.

A late season snow accumulated an average of 5 to 8 inches with blowing and drifting snow. Winds of 30 to 40 mph caused white-out conditions and some rural roads were drifted shut. Power lines were downed in many areas as well as trees and tree limbs from the combination of wind and heavy snow. Numerous traffic accidents were reported, especially after dark when many roads iced over. Lighter snows lingered into the 22nd across parts of northeast Ohio where accumulations totaled as much as 10 to 12 inches in a number of locations.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

22 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Fulton

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Property damage: $6,000
Coordinates: 41.602, -84.130 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lucas

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Lucas forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 41.684, -83.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Henry

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Property damage: $4,000
Coordinates: 41.334, -84.068 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wood

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Wood forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.362, -83.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ottawa

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Ottawa forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 41.497, -82.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sandusky

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Sandusky forecast zone
Property damage: $6,000
Coordinates: 41.357, -83.144 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Seneca

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Seneca forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.124, -83.128 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wyandot

When: March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Wyandot forecast zone
Property damage: $12,000
Coordinates: 40.842, -83.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Erie

When: March 19, 8:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.432, -82.700 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Huron

When: March 19, 8:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Huron forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.146, -82.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Crawford

When: March 19, 8:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 40.851, -82.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Marion

When: March 19, 8:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Marion forecast zone
Property damage: $12,000
Coordinates: 40.587, -83.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lorain

When: March 19, 11:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Lorain forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.453, -82.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Richland

When: March 19, 11:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.775, -82.536 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ashland

When: March 19, 11:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Ashland forecast zone
Property damage: $12,000
Coordinates: 40.846, -82.271 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Knox

When: March 19, 11:00 PM EST to March 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.399, -82.421 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cuyahoga

When: March 20, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Cuyahoga forecast zone
Property damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 41.479, -81.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Medina

When: March 20, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Medina forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.118, -81.900 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Summit

When: March 20, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Summit forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.126, -81.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Geauga

When: March 20, 1:00 AM EST to March 21, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Geauga forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 41.500, -81.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lake

When: March 20, 1:00 AM EST to March 21, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 41.714, -81.245 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Morrow

When: March 20, 1:00 AM EST to March 21, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Morrow forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 40.524, -82.794 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Ohio in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Ohio, March 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5546291, 5546292, 5546293, 5546294, 5546295, 5546296, 5546297, 5546298, 5546299, 5546300, 5546301, 5546302, 5546303, 5546304, 5546305, 5546306, 5546307, 5546308, 5546309, 5546310, 5546311, 5546312.