Cold west-northwest flow across the Great Lakes in the wake of an arctic front produced locally heavy lake-effect snows over the Northwest Mountains. The heaviest snow totals were found in the favored snowbelt region of northwest Warren County given proximity to Lake Erie.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS CTP wrote it up.
Cold west-northwest flow across the Great Lakes in the wake of an arctic front produced locally heavy lake-effect snows over the Northwest Mountains. The heaviest snow totals were found in the favored snowbelt region of northwest Warren County given proximity to Lake Erie.
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 State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 13, 9:49 AM EST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 949 AM EST FRI JAN 13 2012 .SYNOPSIS... THE UPPER LOW ASSOCIATED WITH A STORM STORM WILL PASS OVERHEAD TODAY. WIDESPREAD SNOW SHOWERS AND SQUALLS WILL AFFECT THE WEST AND NORTH. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL AFFECT THE ENTIRE STATE. LAKE EFFECT AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS WILL LAST MOST OF THE WEEKEND BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE MOVES IN FOR SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE ON MONDAY BEFORE ANOTHER COMPLEX STORM DEVELOPS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND SLIDES EASTWARD. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... UPDATED PACKAGE SENT OUT. KEEPING THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UP...WHILE DEFORMATIOON SNOW IS LIFTING NORTHWARD...THE COMBINATION OF FALLING TEMPERATURES...GUSTY WINDS...AND EAST...WEST SNOW BANDS... WILL MAKE FOR POOR CONDITIONS IN SPOTS FOR AT LEAST A FEW MORE HOURS. EARLIER DISCUSSION BELOW... P-TYPE IS SNOW OVER ALL THE AREA AND TEMPS BELOW FREEZING FOR ALL BUT THE LOWER SUSQ. BEST PRESSURE RISES ARE OVER THE SE.. G41KT AT LNS LAST HR AND G45MPH HERE AT THE OFFICE WHEN THE FRONT CAME THROUGH AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER >40MPH GUST SINCE. UPPER LOW WITH VERY HIGH RELATIVE VORTICITY WILL PASS RIGHT OVERHEAD THIS MORNING. WINDS IN THE LOWEST 5KFT ARE ALIGNING NOW...AND SHOULD ALLOW FOR PRETTY EFFICIENT MIXING. TOP SPEEDS OF 45 TO 50KTS ARE SEEN IN THE LLVL WIND FIELDS. SO GUSTS TO THOSE VALUES ARE POSSIBLE...AS WE HAVE SEEN. ALL LOCATIONS HAVE ALREADY SEEN THEIR HIGH FOR THE CALENDAR DAY. MOST PLACES WILL DROP TO THE COLDEST THIS MORNING...THEN HOLD STEADY THROUGH THE REST OF THE DAY. DOWNSLOPE IN THE SE MAY ALLOW THEM TO RISE A COUPLE OF DEGS LATER TODAY. WIND CHILLS AREN/T REALLY A CONCERN WITH VALUES MAINLY 0 TO 10 ABOVE. BUT IT WILL FEEL RAW WITH THE HIGH MOISTURE AND GUSTY WINDS. DRY AIR WRAPPING AROUND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW HAS CREATED A BRIEF LULL IN THE MORE-STEADY SNOW OVER THE NW. HOWEVER...BANDED SNOW SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. THESE NARROW BANDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MORNING...THEN THE DEFORMATION ZONE TO THE WEST OF THE STORM CENTER WILL SLIDE ACROSS THE NW ZONES. WILL CARRY ON WITH A GENERAL 3-5 FOR THE NW MTS THROUGH 7 PM. LOWER AMOUNTS ARE ALMOST A GIVEN WHEN CONSIDERING THE WINDS WILL MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO MEASURE. SLR/S WILL BE BETWEEN 15 AND 25:1...SO THE SNOW COULD PILE UP IF IT HAS A CHANCE TO STAY IN ONE PLACE. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND WINDS GUSTING TO ALMOST 50 MPH LATER WILL LIKELY CREATE VERY POOR DRIVING CONDS. THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN MTNS ARE UNDER A WINT WX ADVISORY FOR SN/BLSN...WITH AN A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. CHOSE NOT TO WORRY ABOUT IF THE WW ADVY COVERED THE WIND ADVY CRITERIA GUSTS AND JUST ISSUED IT FOR EVERYONE. STEADY PRECIP SHOULD BE OVER OR ABOUT TO LEAVE THE NORTH AROUND 12Z. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... LOW MOVES AWAY RAPIDLY THROUGH THE DAY AND EVENING. A STRONG SHORT WAVE TROUGH WILL CROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AS HEIGHTS LEVEL OFF AND STAY MAINLY ZONAL THROUGH THE NEXT 36 HRS. THE FLOW IS INITIALLY A LITTLE TOO WSW AND MAY KEEP THE BETTER LK EFF SHSN OVER WRN NY STATE FOR A SHORT TIME THIS EVENING/EARLY TONIGHT. THE LOW LEVEL FLOW IS TYPICALLY CYCLONIC AND TRAJECTORIES FOR LAKE EFFECT GET BETTER TONIGHT WITH LKS HURON AND ST CLAIR ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE. ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TROUGH WILL CROSS PA SAT AM. THE FLOW THEN BECOMES ANTICYCLONIC SAT NIGHT...AND SHOULD FINALLY END THE LAKE EFFECT. WILL HOLD HIGH POPS AND RUN ACCUMULATIONS UP INTO THE 4-8INCH RANGE FOR WARREN AND SLIGHTLY LESS FOR MCKEAN TONIGHT AND ANOTHER COUPLE OF INCHES ON SAT. AS IS NORMAL...THE PLACES N OF ROUTE 6 WILL SEE THE MOST SNOW. THE WEST-FACING SLOPES OF THE LAURELS WILL ALSO SEE A CONSTANT CHC FOR SHSN AND ACCUMS. BUT THE FLOW IS MORE UPSLOPE THERE RATHER THAN HAVING A EXCELLENT GOOD FETCH FROM THE LAKES. WILL KEEP HIGHEST NUMS IN THE FAR NW. ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH OR SO ARE EXPECTED ELSEWHERE...WITH MORE POSSIBLE IN THE LAURELS. LATER SHIFTS CAN REVISIT THE NEED FOR ANOTHER/EXTENDING THE CURR WW ADVY FOR THE WEST. BUT HAVE CHOSEN TO POST A LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING FOR THE NW STARTING AT THE END OF THE CURRENT ADVY...AND RUNNING THRU MOST OF SAT. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... THE ERN CONUS LW TROUGH IS FCST TO LIFT OUT OF THE MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST STATES BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...RESULTING IN WAA. THIS SHOULD AFFORD A MODERATION IN TEMPS /30S ON MON WITH 30S AND 40S FOR TUE/...AS S/WV RIDGE SLIDES EWD FM THE MIDWEST/GRT LKS AND MILDER SWLY FLOW DEVELOPS AHEAD OF NEXT SYSTEM CROSSING THE ROCKIES/PLAINS. A N-S SFC RIDGE WILL PROVIDE FAIR AND DRY WEATHER TO START NEXT WEEK BEFORE MIGRATING OFF THE ECOAST. MEDIUM RANGE MDL AND ENSEMBLE GUID IS IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT IN TIMING THE NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM AND ACCOMPANYING PCPN THROUGH THE REGION TUE-WED. PRECIP STARTS OFF AS RAIN AND REMAINS PRIMARILY RAIN BEFORE ENDING AS LIGHT SNOW AS COLDER AIR ON THE BACK END OF THIS SYSTEM RETURNS TEMPS BACK TO NORMAL. && .AVIATION /15Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... MAIN ISSUE WILL BE GUSTY WINDS. WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE TAFS AS NEEDED. EARLIER DISCUSSION BELOW. W/SW 30-40KT WIND GUSTS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY AS DEEP LOW PRES OVR THE LWR LKS TRACKS NEWD UP THE ST LAWRENCE VALLEY. THE PATTERN WILL TRANSITION TO A MORE TYPICAL POST-FRONTAL REGIME WITH THE WORST FLYING CONDS OVR THE WRN HIGH TERRAIN IN FQNT LAKE EFFECT AND OROGRAPHICALLY ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS/BLSN REDUCING VIS TO IFR OR LOWER. MVFR CIGS AND VIS WILL BE MORE COMMON THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL AIRFIELDS WITH MVFR TO VFR AT THE SE TERMINALS. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE LATER TONIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY. OUTLOOK... SAT...MVFR/IFR AND -SHSN WEST...MAINLY VFR EAST. SUN...MVFR WEST/VFR EAST. MON...NO SIG WX EXPECTED. TUES...RESTRICTIONS LKLY IN RA/SN. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR PAZ004>006- 010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR PAZ004>006-010-011-017-024-033-037. LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM EST SATURDAY FOR PAZ004-005. && SYNOPSIS...DANGELO NEAR TERM...DANGELO/MARTIN SHORT TERM...DANGELO LONG TERM...RXR/STEINBUGL AVIATION...MARTIN/STEINBUGL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 605 AM EST FRI JAN 13 2012 PAZ012-018-019-025>028-034>036-041-042-045-046-049>053-056>059- 063>066-141115- NORTHERN CLINTON-NORTHERN CENTRE-SOUTHERN CENTRE-BLAIR-HUNTINGDON- MIFFLIN-JUNIATA-BEDFORD-FULTON-FRANKLIN-NORTHERN LYCOMING-SULLIVAN- SOUTHERN CLINTON-SOUTHERN LYCOMING-UNION-SNYDER-MONTOUR- NORTHUMBERLAND-COLUMBIA-PERRY-DAUPHIN-SCHUYLKILL-LEBANON-CUMBERLAND- ADAMS-YORK-LANCASTER- 605 AM EST FRI JAN 13 2012 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WIND ADVISORY. FREEZING TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT MAY HAVE CREATED A LAYER OF ICE ON ROADS AND SIDEWALKS. PLEASE USE CAUTION WHEN TRAVELING THIS MORNING. AREAS THAT RECEIVED SNOW OVERNIGHT MAY HAVE ICE HIDDEN UNDER THE SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. PAZ006-010-011-017-024-033-037-141115- POTTER-ELK-CAMERON-CLEARFIELD-CAMBRIA-SOMERSET-TIOGA- 605 AM EST FRI JAN 13 2012 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. WIND ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. PAZ004-005-141115- WARREN-MCKEAN- 605 AM EST FRI JAN 13 2012 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING... ...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM EST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. WIND ADVISORY. LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The snowbelt region of northwest Warren County picked up 5 to 10 inches of lake-effect snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 2012
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: 354267.