Ohio, 2019

Lake-Effect Snow and Winter Weather in Ohio, November 11 to 12, 2019

November 11 to 12, 2019 · NWS CLE · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
1
Injuries
8
Property damage
$1.7 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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.

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in a northwest to southeast orientation and allowed for over a foot of snow in portions of Northeast Ohio. These snow bands of heavy snow and reduced visibility caused major disruptions to automobile travel, with multiple accidents reported across the region, including along Interstate 80/Ohio Turnpike and Ohio State Route 8 in Summit County and Interstate 80 in Mahoning County, which prompted several road closures around the region. Snowfall totals over Northeast Ohio over this 24 to 36 hour duration widely ranged from 2 inches near the lakeshore to almost 16 inches in portions of the primary Northeast Ohio Snowbelt. A maximum total of 15.9 inches of snow fell in Trumbull Township in Northwest Ashtabula County. Other selected storm totals include: 15.8 inches in Montville, 15.7 in Dorset, 15.5 in Thompson Township, 13.5 in Jefferson, 13 inches in Hambden Township, 12 inches in Wellington, Middlefield, Burton, and Hiram, 11 inches in Pierpont, Orwell, and Chardon, and 10 inches in Mantua.

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 Nov 11, 1:14 PM EST, 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 11, 1:14 PM EST, 46 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 11, 3:16 AM EST, 10 hours 44 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

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

Lake-Effect Snow, Ashtabula

When
November 11, 2:00 PM EST to November 12, 11:00 PM EST
Where
Ashtabula forecast zone
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.896, -80.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in a northwest to southeast orientation and allowed for over a foot of snow in portions of Northeast Ohio. A maximum total of 15.9 inches of snow fell in Trumbull Township in northwestern Ashtabula County. Other selected storm totals include: 15.7 in Dorset, 13.5 in Jefferson, 11 inches in Pierpont and Orwell, 10.4 inches in Harpersfield Township.

Lake-Effect Snow, Geauga

When
November 11, 4:00 PM EST to November 12, 9:00 PM EST
Where
Geauga forecast zone
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.500, -81.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in a northwest to southeast orientation and allowed for over a foot of snow in portions of Northeast Ohio. A maximum total of 15.8 inches of snow fell in Montville. Other selected storm totals include: 15.5 in Thompson Township, 13 inches in Hambden Township, 12 inches in Middlefield and Burton, 11 inches in Chardon, and 9 inches in South Russell and Bainbridge Township.

Lake-Effect Snow, Lorain

When
November 11, 6:00 PM EST to November 12, 9:00 PM EST
Where
Lorain forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.453, -82.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in a northwest to southeast orientation and allowed for over a foot of snow in portions of Northeast Ohio. A maximum total of 11.7 inches of snow fell in Wellington in southern Lorain County. Other selected storm totals include: 8 inches in Pittsfield Township and 6 inches in Oberlin and Kipton. Outside of this narrow area of higher snowfall totals in southwestern Lorain County, snow totals in the remainder of the county were only 2 to 4 inches, less near the lakeshore.

Lake-Effect Snow, Summit

When
November 11, 7:00 PM EST to November 12, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Summit forecast zone
Deaths
0 direct, 1 indirect
Injuries
0 direct, 5 indirect
Property damage
$1.2 million
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.126, -81.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in a northwest to southeast orientation and allowed for over a foot of snow in portions of Northeast Ohio. A maximum total of 9.1 inches of snow fell in Stow in Summit County. Other selected storm totals include: 8.3 inches in Twinsburg, 8.2 inches in Sagamore Hills, and 4 inches in Fairlawn and Bath Township. Snow amounts decreased quickly further south in the county. These snow bands of heavy lake effect snow and reduced visibility caused major disruptions to automobile travel, with multiple accidents reported across the region, including along Interstate 80, (The Ohio Turnpike) and Ohio State Route 8 in Summit County. A combination of reduced visibility due to heavy snow and a construction zone prompted a 16-vehicle accident on the Ohio Turnpike/Interstate 80 in Richfield. A 21-year-old woman was killed in this accident at 8:44 am on November 12th. Several hours later, around 11:00 am on the same day, reduced visibility from snow prompted another multi-car accident on State Route 8 in Hudson. Up 95 vehicles were involved in this incident and five people were taken to the hospital for injuries.

Lake-Effect Snow, Portage

When
November 11, 7:00 PM EST to November 12, 9:00 PM EST
Where
Portage forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.168, -81.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in a northwest to southeast orientation and allowed for over a foot of snow in portions of Northeast Ohio. A maximum total of 12 inches of snow fell in Hiram in northeastern Portage County. Other selected storm totals include: 10 inches in Mantua, 7.7 inches in Streetsboro, and 7.5 inches in Kent. Snow amounts decreased quickly further south in the county.

Winter Weather, Mahoning

When
November 11, 8:00 PM EST to November 12, 9:00 PM EST
Where
Mahoning forecast zone
Injuries
0 direct, 3 indirect
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
41.015, -80.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching southwest Pennsylvania on the evening of November 11. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from the north brought an arctic air mass down into the central United States behind the cold front. With the cold front, precipitation first fell as rain on November 11 throughout much of Northeast Ohio before changing over to snow as arctic air began to surge into the region. Snowfall amounts with this portion of the system were limited with only a couple inches of snow in the higher terrain of Northeast Ohio during the evening of the 11th. In this system's wake, cold temperatures and northwest winds filtered across Lake Erie, creating a lake effect snow set up. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands developed almost immediately after the passage of the cold front, lasting from the morning of November 12 through the morning November 13. Lake effect snow bands persisted in a northwest to southeast orientation and allowed for over a foot of snow in portions of Northeast Ohio. Snow amounts in Mahoning County ranged from 2 to 5 inches. These snow bands of heavy lake effect snow and reduced visibility caused major disruptions to automobile travel, with multiple accidents reported across the region, including along Interstate 80. A 50-vehicle accident occurred on Interstate 80 due to reduced visibility and snow in Jackson Township in Mahoning County around 10:10 am on November 12th. A tractor-trailer overturned in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 before the Interstate 76 interchange. Several injuries occurred with this incident.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Lake-Effect Snow, Summit2019-11-1221FemaleVehicle/Towed TrailerIndirect

What these are

Lake-Effect Snow
Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, November 2019

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 866596, 866595, 866590, 866592, 866593, 866597.