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.