Lake-Effect Snow in Pennsylvania, January 7 to 8, 2010

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in Pennsylvania, January 7 to 8, 2010
Start: 2010-01-07T19:00
End: 2010-01-08T15:00
Location: Pennsylvania

January 7 to 8, 2010 · NWS CLE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An area of low pressure moved across the upper Ohio Valley on January 7th. Cold west to northwest winds behind the low caused lake effect snow showers to develop during the evening of the 7th.

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
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Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $250,000
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 across the upper Ohio Valley on January 7th. Cold west to northwest winds behind the low caused lake effect snow showers to develop during the evening of the 7th. Snow showers then continued into the afternoon of the 8th. The heaviest snow fell along the south shore of Lake Erie. Snowfall rates during the morning of the 8th were in excess of an inch per hour at times. Up to 10 inches of snow fell in northern Erie County to the north of Interstate 90. Some accidents were reported.

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 Jan 7, 3:00 PM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 3:00 PM EST, 4 hours before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 7, 3:31 PM EST, 3 hours 29 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

1 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Lake-Effect Snow, Northern Erie

When: January 7, 7:00 PM EST to January 8, 3:00 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)

Lake effect snow showers developed during the evening of January 7th and continued into the afternoon of the 8th. The heaviest snow fell along the south shore of Lake Erie. Snowfall rates during the morning of the 8th were in excess of an inch per hour at times. Up to 10 inches of snow fell in northern Erie County to the north of Interstate 90. A peak total 10.2 inches was reported at Lake City with 9.4 inches at Fairview. Officially, 7.5 inches of snow was measured at Erie International Airport. Some accidents were reported.

What these are

Lake-Effect Snow: Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, January 2010

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: 206847.