Name: Lake-Effect Snow in Pennsylvania, December 4 to 5, 2019
Start: 2019-12-04T12:00
End: 2019-12-05T08:00
Location: Pennsylvania

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.

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Wind
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Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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.

On December 4, weak low pressure moved through the eastern Great Lakes region and extended a cold front across Lake Erie and adjacent Northwest Pennsylvania. The cold air behind this system allowed for lake effect snow to develop and move into Erie County, PA. Snow was largely limited to a short window during the afternoon and evening hours on the 4th with some residual light snow into the morning hours on the 5th. The maximum recorded value was 7.5 inches of snow in Wattsburg. Other selected storm totals include: 7 inches in Greenfield Township, Amity Township, and Corry, 6.5 inches in Edinboro, 6 inches in Union City and Colt Station, and 5 inches in Greene and North East Townships.

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 Dec 3, 6:37 PM EST, 17 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 6:37 PM EST, 17 hours 23 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, Southern Erie

When: December 4, 12:00 PM EST to December 5, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On December 4, weak low pressure moved through the eastern Great Lakes region and extended a cold front across Lake Erie and adjacent Northwest Pennsylvania. The cold air behind this system allowed for lake effect snow to develop and move into Erie County, PA. Snow was largely limited to a short window during the afternoon and evening hours on the 4th with some residual light snow into the morning hours on the 5th. The maximum recorded value was 7.5 inches of snow in Wattsburg. Other selected storm totals include: 7 inches in Greenfield Township, Amity Township, and Corry, 6.5 inches in Edinboro, 6 inches in Union City and Colt Station, and 5 inches in Greene and North East Townships.

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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, December 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 867804.