Northwestern Pennsylvania is feeling the wrath of another winter blast, and Erie County is under a blizzard warning until 1 a.m. Saturday due to a pairing of heavy lake-effect snow and high winds. The rest of the region is under a lake-effect snow warning.
What is a blizzard warning?
The blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service in Cleveland states additional accumulations of 10 to 18 inches is possible north of I-90. That amount increases to 12 to 20 inches with locally higher amounts south of I-90. Wind gusts of up to 60 mph north of I-90 are expected, and wind gusts up to 50 mpg are possible south of I-90.
How much snow is expected?
According to the National Weather Service in Cleveland, the following snow totals are predicted for the Erie area as of 9 a.m. Thursday.
- Thursday: Daytime accumulations of 4-8 inches possible.
- Thursday night: New snow accumulations of 2-4 inches possible.
- Friday: New snow accumulations of 2-4 inches possible.
- Friday night: New snow accumulations of 3 to 7 inches possible.
Power outages
High winds and heavy snowfall can cause power outages. View the map below to see how many people are impacted.
What’s the Lake Huron connection, and how is it related to Erie’s snowstorm?
The massive snowstorm has reacquainted the Erie area with many weather terms, such as lake-effect snow and blizzard. But this term was new to us: a Lake Huron connection. The National Weather Service used the term to describe a situation that it said contributed to the lake-effect snow that has churned over Lake Erie and Erie County.
Lake Huron is to the west of Lake Erie, creating a weather-related relationship between the two, according to the National Weather Service. It said bands of snow that start over Lake Huron pick up more moisture as they move over Lake Erie, fueling the lake-effect machine.
“If you are looking up at Lake Huron, how it’s orientated north to south or slightly, it gets some bands of snow there and you don’t have a lots dips,” said Brian Mitchell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. “Those bands can still hold together and pick up more moisture off of Lake Erie. You can see the cloud masses line up. You can match up a band of snow that originates off of Lake Huron and come on to Lake Erie and western Pennsylvania there. It’s an extra source of moisture so it’s getting the snow started. Once it comes across Lake Erie it can pick up some extra moisture.”
– Nick Sorensen and Ed Palattella
Weather-related closings
A list of school closings can be found here.
Other institutions that are closed include:
- The Erie City Mission offices are closed Thursday due to weather, but all other services are available.
- The Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania is closed Thursday due to inclement weather. The Second Harvest Food Bank’s Produce Express Distribution, 1507 Grimm Drive, Erie, is also canceled.
- Stairways Behavioral Health in Erie said it has temporarily closed its mobile services, outpatient mental health clinic and outpatient addictions services clinic. Stairways said that if someone is experiencing a mental health crisis to call or text 988 or call 911 for an emergency.
Court is in session, with limited activity
The Erie County court system was in operation on Thursday with limited activity, said Bob Catalde, the administrator for the Erie County Court of Common Pleas. He said the lights flickered at the courthouse for a time on Thursday morning, but that the power remained on. The schedule for the courts on Thursday included guilty pleas and a pretrial hearing.
Catalde said the judges want to keep cases moving on the docket, but were not going to issue bench warrants for defendants who fail to show up because of the huge snowstorm.
“We are still going to have court,” Catalde said. “Whoever comes, comes. Whoever doesn’t, doesn’t.”
– Ed Palattella
Garbage pickup delays in the region
Due to weather conditions and the extended forecast, several municipalities have shut down garbage and recycling pickup for the week.
- Harborcreek Township: Waste Management is shutting down operation of pickups. If your garbage has not been picked up yet this week, it is highly unlikely that your garbage will be picked up until next week.
- North East: The North East Borough Street Department will not resume garbage pickup until Dec. 9. as the work crews continue to plow and salt the snow-covered streets.
- Wesleyville: Trash collection has been canceled and will return to a normal schedule the week of Dec. 9. Recycling collection is also canceled this week and will resume in two weeks.
- City of Erie: The city as recently as Tuesday morning had planned to resume pickup on a two-day delay, but on Tuesday afternoon indicated the soonest pickup will resume is Sunday, “pending further significant weather that could hamper clean-up efforts.”
More:City of Erie garbage, recycling pickup called off this week
– Nick Sorensen
Presque Isle Lights opening night postponed
After careful consideration and safety concerns for park visitors and volunteers, Presque Isle Partnership has pushed back opening night of Presque Isle Lights from Friday to Sunday.
Presque Isle Park and the Tom Ridge Environmental Center remain closed as of Thursday and park staff are working to clear the roads.
For updates on Presque Isle Park visit discoverpi.org.
– Nick Sorensen
Veterans urged to reschedule appointments or request telehealth
The Department of Veterans Affairs in Erie is encouraging veterans to consider rescheduling appointments or requesting telehealth appointmentsbecause of inclement weather. The Erie VA Urgent Care Center is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Stay up to date on Erie-area weather
Return to GoErie.com for updates. Get the latest AccuWeather forecast details and radar images for your ZIP code at goerie.com/weather. Download the GoErie app for iOS or Android for mobile-friendly forecasts. Tour Erie-area conditions by webcams.
