Winter Storm in Ohio, December 13 to 14, 2004

Name: Winter Storm in Ohio, December 13 to 14, 2004
Start: 2004-12-13T06:00
End: 2004-12-14T22:00
Location: Ohio

December 13 to 14, 2004 · NWS CLE · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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.

A strong cold front moved east across northeastern Ohio late on December 12th. Cold west winds blowing across Lake Erie behind the front caused lake effect snow bands to develop during the early morning hours of the 13th. The snow first fell in Ashtabula and Geauga Counties. As winds became more northwesterly, intense snow bands developed and shifted west over the Cleveland Metro area just in time for the afternoon rush hour. Snowfall rates in excess of an inch per hour were reported from late afternoon through early evening. Six inches of snow accumulated at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport by 6 p.m. Periods of heavy snow continued through the morning hours of the 14th. The activity gradually weakened and shifted east during the afternoon. Northwest winds gusting to as high as 30 mph accompanied the snow and created near zero visibilities at times. Snowfall accumulations for the event were generally between one and two feet from eastern Cuyahoga County eastward across Geauga County and into Ashtabula County. Between 8 and 12 inches of snow was reported over western Cuyahoga, northern Portage and Lake Counties. Officially 9.9 inches of snow was measured at Cleveland Hopkins. Peak totals for the storm included: 15.7 inches at Pepper Pike (Cuyahoga County); 12.3 inches at Madison (Lake County); 28.5 inches Hambden Township (Geauga County); 29.5 inches at Hartsgrove (Ashtabula County) and 13 inches at Aurora (Portage County). Drifts several feet deep were reported. Travel was severely hampered during this event and hundreds of accidents occurred.

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 13, 4:20 AM EST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 13, 4:20 AM EST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OHIO
420 AM EST MON DEC 13 2004

.SHORT TERM (TDY THRU TUE)
NRLY CUTOFF LOW OVR ERN GRTLKS THIS MRNG WL CONT A STG CYC FLOW OVR
OUR CWA. CDFNT PUSHED THRU THE AREA EARLIER THIS MRNG CAUSING A WIND
SHIFT INTO THE W. DP MSTR IN PLCE, UPR SUPPORT/OMEGA XPCTD TO INCS
THRU THE DAY. SECONDRY TROF TO MOV THRU LATER TDY CASUING A WIND
SHIFT INTO THE NW AND MUCH COLDER AIR. GOOD LK EFFECT EVENT SETTING
UP. WITH THE WLY FLOW TDY AREAS OF CONVCERN WL BE THE NE COUNTIES
INCLUDING NW PA. UPWARDS OF 6 INCHES PSBL. ONCE THE TROF SWINGS THRU
THIS AFTN/EVENG THE WIND SHIFT INTO THE NW WL EXPAND THE SNOW AREA
INTO ERN LORAIN AND NRN TRUMBULL. NW FLOW OFF LK HUR WL ALSO ENHANCE
THE SNOW STREAKS INTO NE OH TNGT AND INTO TUE. BUT THE SNW ON TUE WL
BE MORE ISOLD IN SNW STREAKS. STG WINDS TO CONT TDY THEN DEC TNGT.
RESIDUAL SHSN OR FLYRS EXPCTD OVR THE ERN PTN OF THE CWA WHILE CLRG
WORKS IN DUE TO STG HI PRES OVR THE MID SECTION OF THE COUNTRY
EXPANDS EWRD INTO THE GRTLKS.

&&

.LONG TERM (TUE NITE THRU NXT WEEKEND)
AS THE HI PRES BLDS EWRD THE WIDNS WL BACK INTO THE SW AND TURN OFF
THE SNOW MACHINE IN THE SNOBELT. OVR THE RMNDR OF THE CWA SKIES
XPCTD TO CLR OR CLRG BY WED. THE CD AMS RMNS IN PLACE UNTL THURS WI
SOME MODERATION IN TEMPS. DID BRING IN A MENTION OF SNW THURS AFTN
DUE TO A TROF MOVG THEU THE NRN TIER OF STATE VIA THE ACTIVE UPR
JET. MAY BE OVRDONE BUT ITS ONLY A CHC. WITH MORE BUCKLING OF THE
50H FLOW AS A LONG WAVE TROF DVLPS OVR THE GRTLKS BY THE WEEKEND
MORE SNOW AND COLD TO CONT IN THE FCST.

&&

.AVIATION (06Z-06Z)...
ARCTIC COLD FRONT CONTS TO MAKE PROGRESS ACRS FA THIS EVE.  ALL
SITES CURRENTLY VFR.  EXPCT THIS TO CHG AS CAA CONTS OVRNGT.  88D
ALREADY SHOWG BAND DEVELPING OVR LERI.  8H TEMPS SHOULD BE DOWN TO
NEG 8 BY 12Z.  FORTUNATELY FLOW WL KEEP BRUNT OF LE ACTIVITY AWAY FM
TAF SITES.  EXCEPTION WL BE KERI WHERE IFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPCTD
MOST OF THE DAY BEGINNING ARND 12Z.  WINDS WL BCM MORE NWLY AFT 18Z
WITH LHUR FETCH EXPCTED BY END OF PD.  THIS WILL BRING MVFR CIGS
INTO KYNG AND KCLE DURG AFT HRS.  OTHR SITES WILL SEE SCT SHSN WITH
OCNL MVFR CIGS AND VSBYS.  EXPCT WINDS TO GRADUALLY DMNSH AFT 18Z.

&&

.CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES.
.OH...WIND ADVISORY CANCELLED
.OH...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING LAKE, GEAUGA AND ASHTABULA TDY THRU
TNGT.
.OH...LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY CUYAHOGA AND TRUMBULL TDY THUR TNGT.
.PA...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING NW PA TDY THRU TNGT.
.LE...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT

&&

SHORT TERM...20
LONG TERM...20
AVIATION...WK/FK

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Ashtabula

When: December 13, 6:00 AM EST to December 14, 10:00 PM EST
Where: Ashtabula forecast zone
Property damage: $350,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.896, -80.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lake

When: December 13, 6:00 AM EST to December 14, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Property damage: $175,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.714, -81.245 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Geauga

When: December 13, 7:00 AM EST to December 14, 10:00 PM EST
Where: Geauga forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.500, -81.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Portage

When: December 13, 12:00 PM EST to December 14, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Portage forecast zone
Property damage: $125,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.168, -81.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cuyahoga

When: December 13, 2:00 PM EST to December 14, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Cuyahoga forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.479, -81.678 (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 Ohio in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Ohio, December 2004

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: 5429322, 5429325, 5429324, 5429326, 5429323.