Ohio, 2022

Lake-Effect Snow in Ohio, November 16 to 17, 2022

November 16 to 17, 2022 · NWS CLE · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Cold air spilled into the region and across Lake Erie on November 16th, allowing lake effect snow to develop in a west to east band across Lake Erie. Snow and rain showers occasionally impacted locations near Lake Erie in Lake and Ashtabula Counties during the afternoon of November 16th, but otherwise stayed just offshore through the evening hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

Cold air spilled into the region and across Lake Erie on November 16th, allowing lake effect snow to develop in a west to east band across Lake Erie. Snow and rain showers occasionally impacted locations near Lake Erie in Lake and Ashtabula Counties during the afternoon of November 16th, but otherwise stayed just offshore through the evening hours. The band became heavy during the evening and pushed south into extreme northeast Ohio overnight into the morning hours of November 17th. This snow band pushed inland and weakened considerably during the morning hours of November 17th, before reorganizing during the afternoon hours and bringing one more burst of moderate to heavy snow before lifting north and out of Ohio. Snow rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour occurred in the heart of the intense lake effect snow overnight and into the early morning hours of November 17th. This heavy snow resulted in low visibility and snowy travel conditions on area roadways. The greatest impact was along I-90 in Ashtabula County, as it was closed in both directions between Ohio Routes 7 and 11 due to numerous accidents during the morning hours of November 17th. No injuries were reported. The highest recorded snowfall of the event was 18.7 measured by a trained spotter in Monroe Township. Other selected snowfall totals include: 16.1 in Ashtabula and Conneaut, 5.5 in Pierpont and 3.8 in Jefferson.

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 16, 9:21 PM EST, 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 16, 9:21 PM EST, 39 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 16, 4:18 PM EST, 5 hours 42 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 16, 6:07 PM EST, 3 hours 53 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

2 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Lake-Effect Snow, Ashtabula Lakeshore

When
November 16, 10:00 PM EST to November 17, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Ashtabula Lakeshore forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.896, -80.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold air spilled into the region and across Lake Erie on November 16th, allowing lake effect snow to develop in a west to east band across Lake Erie. Snow and rain showers occasionally impacted locations near Lake Erie during the afternoon of November 16th, but otherwise stayed just offshore through the evening hours. The band became heavy during the evening and pushed south into extreme northeast Ohio overnight into the morning hours of November 17th. This snow band pushed inland and weakened considerably during the morning hours of November 17th, before reorganizing during the afternoon hours and bringing one more burst of moderate to heavy snow before lifting north and out of Ohio. Snow rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour occurred in the heart of the intense lake effect snow overnight and into the early morning hours of November 17th, especially along and north of I-90. This heavy snow resulted in low visibility and snowy travel conditions on area roadways. The greatest impact was along I-90 in Ashtabula County, as it was closed in both directions due to Ohio Routes 7 and 11 due to numerous accidents during the morning hours of November 17th. No injuries were reported. The highest recorded snowfall of the event was 16.1 measured by a trained spotter in Ashtabula. 14 of snow was also measured by a trained spotter in Conneaut.

Lake-Effect Snow, Ashtabula

When
November 17, 12:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Ashtabula forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.896, -80.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold air spilled into the region and across Lake Erie on November 16th, allowing lake effect snow to develop in a west to east band across Lake Erie. Snow and rain showers occasionally impacted locations near Lake Erie during the afternoon of November 16th, but otherwise stayed just offshore through the evening hours. The band became heavy during the evening and pushed south into extreme northeast Ohio overnight into the morning hours of November 17th. This snow band pushed inland and weakened considerably during the morning hours of November 17th, before reorganizing during the afternoon hours and bringing one more burst of moderate to heavy snow before lifting north and out of Ohio. Snow rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour occurred in the heart of the intense lake effect snow overnight and into the early morning hours of November 17th, especially along and north of I-90. This heavy snow resulted in low visibility and snowy travel conditions on area roadways. The greatest impact was along I-90 in Ashtabula County, as it was closed in both directions due to Ohio Routes 7 and 11 due to numerous accidents during the morning hours of November 17th. No injuries were reported. The highest recorded snowfall of the event was 18.7 measured by a trained spotter in Monroe Township. Snowfall quickly dropped off towards southern Ashtabula County, though totals of 5.5 and 3.8 were measured by trained spotters in Pierpont and Jefferson respectively.

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 Ohio in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, November 2022

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: 1073133, 1073134.