Heavy Snow, Northern Erie
- When
- March 2, 7:00 PM EST to March 3, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northern Erie forecast zone
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 2 to 3, 1996
Heavy lake effect snow occurred with the heaviest amounts near the Lake Erie shore. Accumulations averaged close to 12 inches north of Interstate 90 with as much as 18 inches reported in Northeast (Erie County).
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
- $15,000
- 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.
Heavy lake effect snow occurred with the heaviest amounts near the Lake Erie shore. Accumulations averaged close to 12 inches north of Interstate 90 with as much as 18 inches reported in Northeast (Erie County). Amounts inland were lighter but 6 inches was reported as far south as Meadville (Crawford). Strong west winds caused blowing and drifting snow and dangerous wind chills of 20 below zero.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Southern Erie
- When
- March 2, 7:00 PM EST to March 3, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Erie forecast zone
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Crawford
- When
- March 2, 7:00 PM EST to March 3, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Crawford forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Coordinates
- 41.685, -80.106 (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
- Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New Jersey, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Maine, March 2 to 3, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, March 2, 1996
- Winter Weather in Maryland, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 2, 1996
- Winter Weather in Delaware, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Maryland, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Connecticut, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, March 2 to 3, 1996
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5546286, 5546287, 5546288.