Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Erie
- When
- February 2, 8:00 PM EST to February 5, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northern Erie forecast zone
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Coordinates
- 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Pennsylvania, February 2 to 5, 1996
Bitter cold arctic air dropped overnight low temperatures well below zero. Daytime high temperatures were only in the single digits.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $350,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
Bitter cold arctic air dropped overnight low temperatures well below zero. Daytime high temperatures were only in the single digits. Wind gusts of 25 mph on the 2nd and 5th dropped wind chills to 40 below zero at times. Actual low temperatures reached -14 at Cranesville (Erie County) on the night of the 3rd/4th and -17 the night of the 4th/5th. Hatch Hollow in Erie county reported -20. A number of pipes and water mains froze/broke.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Erie
- When
- February 2, 8:00 PM EST to February 5, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Erie forecast zone
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Crawford
- When
- February 2, 8:00 PM EST to February 5, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Crawford forecast zone
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Coordinates
- 41.685, -80.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in North Carolina, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Illinois, February 2 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Illinois, February 2 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Louisiana, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Tennessee, February 2 to 3, 1996
- Cold in Ohio, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Mississippi, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Tornado in Florida, February 2, 1996
- Ice Storm in North Carolina, February 2, 1996
- Tornado in Florida, February 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Virginia, February 2 to 3, 1996
- Flash Flood in Alabama, February 2, 1996
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 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: 5549035, 5549036, 5549037.