Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 27 to 28, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 27 to 28, 2002
Start: 2002-02-27T06:00
End: 2002-02-28T02:00
Location: Pennsylvania

February 27 to 28, 2002 · NWS CLE · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

West to southwest flow across Lake Erie caused lake effect snow showers to develop during the morning hours. Initially, a single band of heavy snow developed along the south shore of Lake Erie.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.1 million
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.

West to southwest flow across Lake Erie caused lake effect snow showers to develop during the morning hours. Initially, a single band of heavy snow developed along the south shore of Lake Erie. However, later in the day winds became more northwesterly causing the snow to spread inland and develop multiple bands. The heaviest snow fell during the afternoon hours. Accumulations ranged from six inches near Lake Erie to over 10 inches further Inland. Whiteout conditions led to an accident involving over one hundred vehicles on Interstate 90 just south of Erie. Multiple injuries and one death resulted from this pile up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Cleveland, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 27, 3:00 AM EST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 3:00 AM EST, 3 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
300 AM EST WED FEB 27 2002

WRAP AROUND SNOW MAINLY LGT ATTM. S/WV PROGGED THRU BOTTOM OF TROF
THIS AFTRN AND WL PULL SFC TROF SE ACRS FCST AREA. COMBINATION
SHUD ENHANCE SNOW ESP IN FAVORED LAKE EFFECT AREAS. WSW FLOW SHUD
BCM NW BY EVENING. SOLID SNOW BAND ALREADY GOING OVR OPEN WATERS OF
LAKE ERIE AND SHUD PLOW ONSHORE STARTING THIS MORN ERIE PA LAKESHORE
AND THEN PUSH INLAND THIS AFTRN. BUFKIT SHOWS NO INVERSION INTO TNGT
AND MDT/STNG INSTABILITY WITH LAKE INDUCED CAPE MAXING OUT ABT 450
WITH PLENTY OF OMEGA THRU PRIME SNOW GROWTH REGION IN PROFILE. WL
ISSUE LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING FOR ALL OF SNOW BELT INCLUDING LAKE
SHORE AND ALSO FOR E CUYAHOGA NORTHERN SUMMIT PORTAGE AND TRUMBULL
COUNTIES. SOMEWHAT LESS SNOW (COUPLE INCHES) IN AKRON AND YTOWN WITH
AN INCH OR LESS NW OH. LAST OF SERIES OF S/WV PROGGED THRU EARLY
TNGT AND FLOW WL BE NW SO MULTIBAND SNOW WILL BE LIGHTER AND MAINLY
INLAND WITH CLEARING NW OH. FLOW BACK TO SW THUR MORN AND WL HAVE TO
WATCH LAKESHORE AGAIN BUT INVERSION SHUD BE LOWERING AND DOUBT THE
LAKE EFFECT WLL BE HEAVY. NEXT CLIPPER DUE ON FRIDAY WITH ANOTHER
ARCTIC FRONT SAGGING S ACRS GRTLKS AS A SECOND S/WV PROGGED OUT OF
SW STATES. NEEDLESS TO SAY THIS SITUATION NEEDS TO BE WATCHED
CLOSELY AND TOO EARLY TO PIN DOWN EXACT WX DEPENDING ON TIMING AND
POSITION OF WAVE. FAVOR SLIGHTLY COLDER MAV TEMP GUIDANCE WITH
MID/UP 20S TDY AND UPR 20S/ARND 30 THUR. THANKS PIT BUF FOR COORD.

.CLE...
.OH...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING NE OH SNOWBELT INTO TNGT
OHZ011>014-021>023-089. GALE WARNING LERI.
.PA...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING NW PA INTO TNGT PAZ001-002-003.
GALE WARNING LERI.

KOSARIK

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Crawford

When: February 27, 6:00 AM EST to February 28, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.685, -80.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Erie

When: February 27, 6:00 AM EST to February 28, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $1.0 million
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Erie

When: February 27, 6:00 AM EST to February 28, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.118, -80.098 (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 Pennsylvania in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, February 2002

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: 5283839, 5283840, 5283841.