Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, December 5 to 6, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, December 5 to 6, 2003
Start: 2003-12-05T07:00
End: 2003-12-06T03:00
Location: Pennsylvania

December 5 to 6, 2003 · NWS CLE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An area of low pressure moved east across southern Ohio and into Pennsylvania on December 5th. Precipitation began just before daybreak on the 5th and ended during the early morning hours of the 6th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: $150,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

An area of low pressure moved east across southern Ohio and into Pennsylvania on December 5th. Precipitation began just before daybreak on the 5th and ended during the early morning hours of the 6th. Most of the precipitation fell as snow, but some sleet and freezing rain fell during the early stages of the storm. The greatest snowfall rates occurred during the late afternoon and early evening hours as wrap around moisture from the low moved into the region. A total of 6 to 8 inches of snow was reported in Crawford County with the highest amounts across the southern portion of the county. Numerous accidents resulted from this storm.

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 Dec 5, 2:26 AM EST, 4 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 2:26 AM EST, 4 hours 34 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
226 AM EST FRI DEC 5 2003

HAD HOPED TO LEAVE AT LEAST PART OF CWA WITHOUT HEADLINES THIS AM
BUT PATCHY FZRA OCCURG AND MORE LIKELY THROUGH MID AM HRS.  THUS
MOST OF FA GETS AN ADVISORY TDA.  WL GO WITH A WARNG FAR ERN AND
SERN AREA THRU TNGT.  EXPCT A GD 6-8 INCH SWATH OF SNOW IN THE
WARNING AREA IN ADDITION TO A LTTL MIXED PRECIP THIS AM.  MODELS
DOING A PRETTY GD JOB TDA AND ALL HINT AT A WINTRY MESS THE DAY 24
HRS.  SUM CONCERN THAT WE MAY WARM ENUF FOR MAINLY RA THIS AM SRN
1/2 FA BUT COLDER AIR SHOULD WIN OUT BY MIDDAY WITH DECENT
ACCUMULATING SNOW DURG THE PM HRS.  ALTHO SNOWFALL TOTALS WL BE
MARGINAL FEEL ADVSRY WAY TO GO GIVEN MIXED PRECIP THREAT AMD LACK OF
SN SO FAR THIS SEASON.  PRECIP SHOULD BEGIN TO WIND DOWN THIS EVE FM
W TO E AS SFC LOW SHIFTS TO THE E COAST.  8H TEMPS AND FLOW BHND
SYSTEM NOT CONDUSIVE FOR LE ACTIVITY AND WEEKEND SHOULD BE MAINLY
DRY.

WL UNDERCUT GUID TEMPS A LTTL..ESP TMRW AND TMRW NGT GIVEN SNOWCOVER
THAT SHOULD BE ARND BY THEN.

.CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

OH...WINTER STORM WARNING OHZ022-023-032-033 FOR TDA AND TGNT.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAIN OH COUNTIES THRU THIS EVE.
PA...WINTER STORM WARNING PAZ003 FOR TDA AND TGNT.
     WITNER WEATHER ADVISORY PAZ001-002 THRU THIS EVE.

KUBINA

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Crawford

When: December 5, 7:00 AM EST to December 6, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.685, -80.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, December 2003

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: 5328628.