Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 4, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 4, 2002
Start: 2002-02-04T06:00
End: 2002-02-04T18:00
Location: Pennsylvania

February 4, 2002 · NWS CLE · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Cold northwest winds blowing across Lake Erie caused lake effect snow showers to develop before daybreak. These snow showers intensified during the late morning hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

Cold northwest winds blowing across Lake Erie caused lake effect snow showers to develop before daybreak. These snow showers intensified during the late morning hours. Snow accumulations of 6 to 7 inches were reported in Crawford County with around 10 inches in southern Erie County.

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 3, 3:30 PM EST, 14 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 3, 3:30 PM EST, 14 hours 30 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Crawford

When: February 4, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.685, -80.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Erie

When: February 4, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5283837, 5283838.