Cold northerly winds blowing across Lake Erie caused intense bands of lake effect snow to develop around midnight on February 4th.  The snow bands started over Lorain County and then spread east across Cuyahoga and Medina Counties.  The snow was very fluffy and because of this, snowfall rates exceeded two inches per hour at times. Thunder and lightning was reported in Cleveland Metropolitan area during this event.  Total accumulations exceeded a foot in some locations.  The snow showers diminished during the afternoon hours.  Many accidents were reported.

Lake-Effect Snow in LORAIN, OHIO
From 03-FEB-09 23:00:00 to 04-FEB-09 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 200.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Intense bands of lake effect snow developed over Lorain County just before midnight on February 4th.  Most of the snow showers affected the eastern half of the county.  The snow was very fluffy with snowfall rates exceeding two inches per hour at times.  The snow showers finally tapered off during the afternoon hours.  Accumulations of 6 to 8 inches were reported over much of northern and eastern Lorain County.  A maximum of 9.9 inches was reported at Oberlin with 9.0 inches in North Ridgeville and 8.9 inches in Carlisle Township.  Many accidents and school closures were reported.

Lake-Effect Snow in CUYAHOGA, OHIO
From 03-FEB-09 23:00:00 to 04-FEB-09 18:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Intense bands of lake effect snow developed over Cuyahoga County just before midnight on February 4th.  The snow showers initially affected  the western half of the county, but quickly spread east across the remainder of the county around daybreak.  The snow was very fluffy with snowfall rates exceeding two inches per hour at times.  Thunder and lightning was reported throughout the county. The snow showers finally tapered off during the late afternoon and early evening hours.  Accumulations of 6 to 10 inches were reported over much of the county.  A maximum of 14.9 inches was reported at Parma with 14.8 inches at Broadview Heights.  Spotters in Shaker Heights reported a foot of snow with 10.0 inches reported in Garfield Heights.  Officially, 11.3 inches of snow was measured at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport with most of the snow falling before noon.  Significant delays were reported at the airport.  Many accidents and school closures were reported in Cuyahoga County.

Lake-Effect Snow in MEDINA, OHIO
From 04-FEB-09 00:00:00 to 04-FEB-09 18:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 125.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Intense bands of lake effect snow developed over northern Medina County around midnight on February 4th.  The snow showers picked up in intensity around daybreak with heavy snow then reported through midday.  The snow shower activity diminished during the afternoon hours and ended completely early in the evening.  The snow was very fluffy with snowfall rates in excess of an inch per hour at times.  Accumulations of 6 to 8 inches were reported across the northern end of Medina County.  The greatest accumulations were in the Hinckley area.   Many accidents were reported in Medina County.