A powerful cold front crossed the region during the early morning hours of November 12th producing a widespread snowfall. A general 1 to 3 inches of snow fell in a 6 to 8 hour period behind the cold front across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia.
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 PBZ wrote it up.
A powerful cold front crossed the region during the early morning hours of November 12th producing a widespread snowfall. A general 1 to 3 inches of snow fell in a 6 to 8 hour period behind the cold front across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia. In the higher elevations of Preston, Tucker, and Garrett counties up to 4 inches of snow fell.
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 Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 11, 8:02 PM EST, 3 hours 58 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
802 PM EST MON NOV 11 2013
.SYNOPSIS...
A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION TONIGHT...BRINGING THE
FIRST WIDESPREAD SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON. BELOW-AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MID-WEEK.
&&
.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/...
MINIMAL CHGS IN SYNOPTIC EVOLUTION OF THE PRESENT WX SYSTEM...SO
ONLY MINIMAL CHGS NEEDED TO CURRENT FCST. TEMPS WILL DROP FROM MID
40S TO MID-UPR 30S AS PCPN BGNS...AND TO LOW-MID 30S THEREAFTER
WITH TRANSITION TO SNOW.
CDFNT CURRENTLY STRETCHES FROM NEAR KDSV TO KUCP TO KDAY AND WILL
CONT TO MOVE SEWD THRU THE EVE. SNOW WILL BGN NWRN ZONES BY 0300
UTC...CNTRL ZONES AND MTNS BY 0500 UTC AND ALL ZONES BY 0600 UTC.
OVNGT...WINDOW OF A FEW HRS WILL EXIST WHERE LIFT WILL COINCIDE
WITH DENDRITIC GROWTH ZONE... SUGGESTING SNOW RATES MAY BE
ENHANCED. BUT WDSPRD PCPN XPCD TO WANE AND SHIFT INTO ERN PA BY
1200 UTC AS VERY COLD AIR ARRIVES.
IN WAKE OF WDSPRD SNOW OVNGT...NNWLY SFC WINDS WILL INCR AND BCM
GUSTY. FETCH FROM LAKES WILL PROMOTE TRANSITION TO LAKE-ENHANCED
SNOW SHWRS. FOCUS FOR THESE SHWRS MAY BE FARTHER W THAN IS TYPICAL
OWING TO NNWLY WIND DIRECTION.
INVERSION HGT WILL RMN RELATIVELY HIGH THRU THE AFTN...WHICH WILL
MAINTAIN THE UPSLP LAKE-ENHANCED SNOW MACHINE. ELSEWHERE...DRYING
LOW LVLS WILL LMT BUT NOT SUPPRESS SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. TEMPS NOT
XPCD TO ECLIPSE MID 30S TUE OWING TO CLD CVR AND STRONG COLD AIR
ADVCTN /NOTE SINGLE DIGIT TEMPS LATE MON AFTN IN CNTRL CANADA/.
PREV DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...
A CDFNT ACRS SRN ONTARIO INTO NRN OH WL DROPS TNGT BRINGING WDSPRD
PCPN. INITIALLY BNDRY LYR TEMPS AND TEMP PROFILES WL BE WRM ENOUGH
FOR RAIN...BUT PCPN SHOULD QUICKLY CHG TO SNW LT THIS EVE AND
OVRNGT AS MUCH COLDER AIR MOVES IN BEHIND THE FNT. GENLY EXPG 1 TO
PSBLY 2 INCHES OF SNW MOST PLACES. INITIALLY THE WARM GROUND TEMPS
SHOULD LMT ANY ACCUMS. THE EXCEPTION WL BE IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN
SE OF PIT...WHERE UPSLOPE FLOW COMBINED WITH DECENT BNDRY LYR
MOSITURE SHOULD LEAD TO 3 TO 5 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION FM TNGT INTO
THE DAY TUE. THE FLOW IS NOT PERFECT...BUT WITH THE ADDNL LIFT FM
UPSLOPE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SQUEEZE OUT ENOUGH SNW TO MEET WINTER
WEA ADVY CRITERIA SNOWFALL.
THE OTHER AREA OF CONCERN IS NW PA WHERE LK EFCT SNW IS PSBL LT
TNGT INTO TUE. BNDRY LYR FLOW...ALG WITH MESO MDL PROGS...INDICATE
THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR HEAVIER SNW WOULD BE ACRS NE OH WHERE A
TRAJECTORY OFF LK HURON WOULD ADD TO THE SNW POTENTIAL. WOULD
PREFER TO SEE A MORE NWRLY FLOW RATHER THAN NRLY BEFORE FCSTG MORE
SNW IN NW PA...SO HELD OFF ON ANY ADVY IN THAT RGN ATTM. LK
INDUCED INSTBY IS IMPRESSIVE WITH 850MB/LK SFC TEMP DIFFERENCES
ARND 20-22 DEG C. ACRS THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA...EXP SCT SNW
SHWRS AS AN UPR TROF CROSSES THE RGN IN THE AFTN.
TEMPS WL BE 10 TO 20 DEG BLO SEASONAL AVGS AS 850MB TEMPS DROP TO
-10/-12 DEG C.
&&
.SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/...
SNW SHWRS SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF TUE NGT AS THE FLOW BEGINS TO
TURN MORE ANTICYCLONIC. EXPG A GRDL DCRS IN CLD COVER THRU THE DAY
WED WITH MCLR SKIES BY WED NGT/THU. TEMPS WL MODERATE SOME BY
THU...BUT WL STILL BE WELL BLO SEASONAL AVGS.
&&
.LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/...
GUIDANCE SUGGESTS UNCLIMATOLOGICALLY HIGHER CHCS OF PCPN SUN NGT-
MON. POPS WERE INCRD TO MATCH GUIDANCE NUMBERS FOR THESE PDS GIVEN
CONSISTENCY AMONG MEDIUM-RNG MODELS IN FCSTG PASSAGE OF SHRTWV
TROF SUN NGT-MON. PREV DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...
HIGH PRES WL REMAIN IN CTRL THRU SAT WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND A
SLOW WARMING TREND. SHWR CHCS WL INCR SUN AND MON AHD OF AN APCHG
SFC LOW. TEMPS SHOULD RTN TO NR SEASONAL AVGS BY THE WKEND.
&&
.AVIATION /01Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
FLOW SHOULD QUICKLY FLOP AROUND TO THE NNW THIS EVENING AS THE
COLD FRONT SLICES SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE AREA. SOME CONVECTIVE RAIN
SHOWERS HAVE MANAGED TO DEVELOP WELL OUT AHEAD OF IT AND WILL
PLAGUE MOSTLY THE SOUTHERN TERMINALS...WHILE ALL OTHER SITES WILL
LIKELY WAIT FOR PRECIPITATION UNDER THE FRONTAL ARRIVAL. IN
GENERAL...A COUPLE HOURS OF RAIN WILL FALL AT EACH SITE WITH A
RAPID CHANGEOVER FROM RAIN TO SNOW BEHIND THE FRONT AS WELL AS AN
ABRUPT WIND SHIFT. CURRENT OBSERVATIONS IN SNOW BEHIND THE FRONT
FAVOR 1/2SM TO 1 1/2SM VISIBILITES...WHICH SEEM REASONABLE GIVEN
THE VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ASCENT. THE TERMINAL FORECASTS
THEREFORE FAVOR 1SM AT ALL SITES BEHIND THE FRONT...WHICH MAKES
THE FORECASTS FAR MORE DEGRADED THAN MOS.
STEADY SNOW SHOULD LAST ROUGHLY 5-7 HOURS AT ALL SITES BEFORE
TURNING MORE SHOWERY ON TUESDAY AS LAKE EFFECT KICKS IN. FRIES
.OUTLOOK.../TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
RESTRICTIONS WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY AFTERNOON IN SNOW SHOWERS WITH
INTERMITTENT IFR POSSIBLE AT FKL AND DUJ WITH RESTRICTIONS
DIMINISHING TUESDAY NIGHT. SURFACE RIDGE WILL THEN BRING GENERAL VFR
WED-SAT.
&&
.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 PM EST
TUESDAY FOR MDZ001.
OH...NONE.
PA...NONE.
WV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 PM EST
TUESDAY FOR WVZ023-041.
&&
UPDATE...KRAMAR/FRIESHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 318 PM EST MON NOV 11 2013 OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-029- 031-073>076-WVZ001>004-012-021-022-122030- TUSCARAWAS-CARROLL-COLUMBIANA-COSHOCTON-HARRISON-JEFFERSON OH- MUSKINGUM-GUERNSEY-BELMONT-NOBLE-MONROE-MERCER-VENANGO-FOREST- LAWRENCE-BUTLER-CLARION-JEFFERSON PA-BEAVER-ALLEGHENY-ARMSTRONG- INDIANA-WASHINGTON-GREENE-WESTMORELAND-WESTMORELAND RIDGES-FAYETTE- FAYETTE RIDGES-HANCOCK-BROOKE-OHIO-MARSHALL-WETZEL-MARION-MONONGALIA- 318 PM EST MON NOV 11 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL OHIO...NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA...WEST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A WIDESPREAD SNOW ACCUMULATION OF ONE TO TWO INCHES IS EXPECTED FOR MOST LOCATIONS TONIGHT. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MDZ001-WVZ023-041-122030- GARRETT-PRESTON-TUCKER- 318 PM EST MON NOV 11 2013 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 PM EST TUESDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MARYLAND AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. 07
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A general 1 to 3 inches of snow fell across eastern Ohio with 2 inches reported in Zanesville.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, November 2013
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: 477812.