Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 10, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 10, 2002
Start: 2002-03-10T03:00
End: 2002-03-10T20:00
Location: Pennsylvania

March 10, 2002 · NWS CLE · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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: $400,000
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.

Westerly winds behind a strong cold front caused lake effect snow showers to develop during the early morning hours. Up to 10 inches of snow fell across inland sections of Erie County with 4 to 6 inches of snow near Lake Erie. Westerly winds gusted in excess of 40 mph for much of the day causing whiteout conditions and significant blowing and drifting problems.

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 Mar 9, 5:05 PM EST, 9 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 9, 5:05 PM EST, 9 hours 55 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
505 PM EST SAT MAR 9 2002

UPDATED TO ADD SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR EASTERN AREAS.

.CLE...
.OH...HIGH WIND WARNING THRU TNGT.
.PA...HIGH WIND WARNING THRU TNGT.
.LERI...STORM WARNING IN EFFECT.

KIELTYKA

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 9, 9:46 PM EST, 5 hours 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND,OH
946 PM EST SAT MAR 9 2002

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0540 PM    PAINSVILLE                OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   LAKE                           A FEW TREES WERE DOWNED.

0625 PM    ERIE                      PA   66 MPH NON TSTM WIND GUST
03/09/02   ERIE

0400 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   MARION                         SCATTERED TREES AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN ACROSS THE
                                          COUNTY

0510 PM    BROADVIEW HEIGHTS         OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   CUYAHOGA                       A HOME WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED
                                          BY A FALLEN TREE.

0639 PM    CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS         PA   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   CRAWFORD                       A HOUSE AND TWO CARS WERE
                                          DAMAGED BY FALLEN TREES.

0341 PM    2 W BETTSVILLE            OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   SENECA                         A BARN ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF.

0436 PM    LOUISVILLE                OH   79 MPH NON TSTM WIND GUST
03/09/02   STARK

KUBINA

Local storm report, Mar 9, 10:49 PM EST, 4 hours 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND,OH
1049 PM EST SAT MAR 9 2002

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0345 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   HURON                          NUMEROUS TREES DOWNED
                                          ACROSS THE COUNTY. ONE
                                          GARAGE DESTROYED AND
                                          ANOTHER DAMAGED. ONE HOUSE
                                          SEVERELY DAMAGED.

1000 PM    LORAIN                    OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   LORAIN                         ROOF BLOWN OFF HOUSE.

0510 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   PORTAGE                        FOUR TREES AND A ROAD SIGN
                                          BLOWN DOWN.

0515 PM    LORAIN                    OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   LORAIN                         *** 1 DEAD ***
                                          FALLING TREE STRUCK MAN.
                                          ROOF OFF BUILDING AND CAR
                                          HIT BY TREE.

0530 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   ASHTABULA                      MANY TREES DOWN ACROSS THE
                                          COUNTY.

0400 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   RICHLAND                       TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
                                          ACROSS THE COUNTY. ONE CAR
                                          WAS DAMAGED BY A FALLEN
                                          TREE.

0400 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   WYANDOT                        FOUR BARNS BLOWN DOWN IN
                                          THE NORTHERN PART OF THE
                                          COUNTY. SEVERAL HOUSE ROOFS
                                          ALSO DAMAGED.

0600 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   MAHONING                       TREES AND POWER POLES DOWN
                                          ACROSS THE COUNTY.

0400 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   MORROW                         MANY TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN ACROSS COUNTY.

0452 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   HOLMES                         TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
                                          ACROSS THE COUNTY.

0550 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   GEAUGA                         MANY TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY.

0545 PM                              OH   WIND DAMAGE
03/09/02   TRUMBULL                       MANY TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY.
                                          TREES ON HOUSES AND CARS.

KUBINA

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, Northern Erie

When: March 10, 3:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Erie

When: March 10, 3:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $150,000
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, March 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: 5284864, 5284865.