Winter weather ahead: Cleveland could see six inches of lake effect snow, eastern counties more

CLEVELAND, Ohio—Winter weather is on the way. A cold front from the north is expected to bring heavy lake effect snow to the area along the eastern shore and inland areas of Lake Erie.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather warning for Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, and Lake counties in Ohio and Erie and Crawford Counties in Pennsylvania beginning Monday at 10 p.m. until Wednesday morning.

Northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania can expect periods of rain tonight transitioning into lake effect snow as temperatures plummet beginning Monday morning and continuing through Tuesday with snow accumulation up to a foot or more.

Initial periods of light to moderate lake effect snow are predicted in Ashtabula, Geauga and lake Counties beginning Monday morning, and may impact the morning and evening commutes.

Accumulations through the day on Monday are expected to be minimal and will primarily impact far northeastern Ohio- Ashtabula County and eastern Lake counties, as well as Erie and Crawford counties of Pennsylvania, but will gradually move further west, said Raelene Campbell, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland.

“That’s going to be the name of the game for much of Monday, but the best chance of lake effect development is going to be Monday night into Tuesday morning,” explained Campbell. “Because that’s when winds will shift to have more of a northerly component,”

With those northern winds come much colder temperatures. On Monday night, temperatures are expected to drop into the upper teens and low 20s, however the strong winds are predicted to bring wind chills into the single digits. This will shift rain to snowfall, and the heaviest snow and most significant impacts are expected Monday night through Tuesday, where snowfall is expected at rates of 1-2 inches per hour with accumulation of 5-12 inches in the eastern Ohio counties.

Cuyahoga County residents should expect wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour along with 6 inches of snow or more. The city of Cleveland is expected to see 4-6 inches of snow.

“It really just depends on that wind,” said Campbell.

Erie and Crawford Counties in Pennsylvania could see snow accumulations from 10-18 inches. Travel through these areas could be difficult.

By Tuesday afternoon, a southerly wind should begin to push the storm back to Buffalo, NY and the snowfall should begin to gradually taper off. Snow should stop in the Cleveland area by late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, and far east counties will follow.

Boaters should also take precautions during the storm. There is a small craft advisory from 1 a.m. Monday to 1 a.m. Wednesday for the nearshore waters of Lake Erie from Vermilion in Ohio to Ripley, New York. West winds of 20 to 25 knots and waves 6 to 9 feet are expected.