Persistent cold northwest winds blowing across Lake Erie resulted in a prolonged period of moderate to heavy lake effect snow in Northeast Ohio.  Lake effect snow showers developed during the late evening hours of December 4th.  This activity quickly intensified on the 5th and then continued into December 7th before finally diminishing late in the day.  Intense bands of snow were reported on both the 5th and 6th.  Snowfall rates at times were in excess of two inches per hour with visibilities near zero.  Snowfall totals across northeastern Ohio varied considerably.  More than two feet of snow was reported over much of Geauga County, portions of northern Summit and Portage Counties, northwestern Trumbull County and southeastern Cuyahoga County.   Locations further west and south generally saw no more than a few inches of snow from the 5th through the 7th.  Scattered snow showers persisted into December 8th, but little additional accumulation was reported through midday.  A band of intense lake effect snow developed early in the afternoon over Cuyahoga County.  This band stretched from downtown Cleveland eastward into Geauga County.   Six to as much as ten inches of snow fell on the northern half of the Cleveland metropolitan area during the evening commute.  Traffic in the city was reduced to a crawl.  Many motorists ran out of the gas on area streets and freeways and were forced to abandon their vehicles.  People reported needing an hour to travel just a few blocks.  Some commuters needed as much as four hours to get home from work.  Northwest winds gusted to as much as 35 mph during the first half of this event which caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Drifts over three feet deep were reported during this event and travel was nearly impossible at times.   Peak snowfall totals for the counties affected by this event included:  33.0 inches at Burton in Geauga County; 28.0 inches at Hiram in northeast Portage County; 27.3 inches at Solon in southeastern Cuyahoga County; 27.0 inches at Mespotamia in northwestern Trumbull County; 24.3 inches at Sagamore Hills in northern Summit County and 18.8 inches at Brunswick in northern Medina County.

Lake-Effect Snow in PORTAGE, OHIO
From 04-DEC-10 23:00:00 to 08-DEC-10 02:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 150.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy lake effect snow fell on northern half of Portage County from late in the evening on December 4th through the evening hours of the 7th.  Snowfall totals ranged from 15 to 20 inches over the northern half of the county.  A peak total of 28.0 inches was measured at Hiram in the northeastern corner of the county.  Snowfall rates with the heaviest bands of snow exceeded two inches per hour.  Strong northwest winds accompanied the snow and caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Travel was severely hampered during this event.

Lake-Effect Snow in TRUMBULL, OHIO
From 04-DEC-10 23:00:00 to 08-DEC-10 02:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 200.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy lake effect snow fell on portions of Trumbull County from late in the evening on December 4th through the evening hours of the 7th.  Snowfall totals ranged from 12 to 20 inches over much of western and northern Trumbull County.   A peak total of 27.0 inches was reported at Mespotamia in the northwest corner of the county. Snowfall rates with the heaviest bands of snow exceeded two inches per hour.  Strong northwest winds accompanied the snow and caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Travel was severely hampered during this event.  Officially, 18.9 inches of snow was measured at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport on December 4th through the 7th.

Lake-Effect Snow in SUMMIT, OHIO
From 04-DEC-10 23:00:00 to 07-DEC-10 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy lake effect snow fell on northern half of Summit County from late in the evening on December 4th through the evening hours of the 7th.  Snowfall totals ranged from 15 to 20 inches over the northern half of the county.  A peak total of 24.2 inches was measured at Sagamore Hills in the northwestern corner of the county.  Snowfall rates with the heaviest bands of snow exceeded two inches per hour.  Strong northwest winds accompanied the snow and caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Travel was severely hampered during this event.

Lake-Effect Snow in MEDINA, OHIO
From 05-DEC-10 02:00:00 to 07-DEC-10 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 150.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy lake effect snow fell on northern half of Medina County from the early morning hours of December 5th through the evening hours of the 7th.  Snowfall totals ranged from 14 to 18 inches over the northern half of the county.  A peak total of 18.8 inches was measured at Brunswick.  Snowfall rates with the heaviest bands of snow exceeded two inches per hour.  Strong northwest winds accompanied the snow and caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Travel was severely hampered during this event.

Lake-Effect Snow in CUYAHOGA, OHIO
From 04-DEC-10 22:00:00 to 07-DEC-10 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 300.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy lake effect snow fell on eastern Cuyahoga County from late in the evening on December 4th through the evening hours of the 7th.  Snowfall totals in the county ranged from just a few inches at the western end of the county to more than two feet in the southeastern corner.  A peak total of 27.3 inches was measured at Solon.  Snowfall rates with the heaviest bands of snow exceeded two inches per hour.  Strong northwest winds accompanied the snow and caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Travel was severely hampered during this event.

Lake-Effect Snow in GEAUGA, OHIO
From 04-DEC-10 22:00:00 to 08-DEC-10 02:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 350.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy lake effect snow fell on portions of Geauga County from late in the evening on December 4th through the evening hours of the 7th.  Snowfall totals ranged from 15 to 18 inches on the western edge of the county to a peak total of 33.0 inches near Burton.  Snowfall rates with the heaviest bands of snow exceeded two inches per hour.  Strong northwest winds accompanied the snow and caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Travel was severely hampered during this event.

Lake-Effect Snow in ASHTABULA, OHIO
From 04-DEC-10 22:00:00 to 08-DEC-10 02:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 150.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy lake effect snow fell on portions of Ashtabula County from late in the evening on December 4th through the evening hours of the 7th.  Snowfall totals ranged from 12 to 20 inches over most of inland Ashtabula County.  A peak total of 23.7 inches was reported near Pierpont with 22.1 inches at Windsor.  Snowfall rates with the heaviest bands of snow exceeded two inches per hour.  Strong northwest winds accompanied the snow and caused blizzard like conditions at times.  Travel was severely hampered during this event.

Lake-Effect Snow in CUYAHOGA, OHIO
From 08-DEC-10 12:00:00 to 08-DEC-10 20:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

A band of heavy lake effect snow developed over the northern half of Cuyahoga County early in the afternoon of December 8th.  This band persisted through the afternoon commute before finally drifting inland and dissipating during the evening hours.  Six to as much as ten inches of snow was reported across the northern half of the county.   Snowfall rates at times were in excess of two inches per hour with visibilities near zero.  Traffic was reduced to a crawl by this band of snow.  Some resident reported needing as much as four hours to get home from work.

Lake-Effect Snow in GEAUGA, OHIO
From 08-DEC-10 12:00:00 to 08-DEC-10 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A band of heavy lake effect snow developed over Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties early in the afternoon of December 8th.  This band persisted through the afternoon commute before finally drifting inland and dissipating during the evening hours.  Six to as much as ten inches of snow was reported across the west half of the county.  Snowfall rates at times were in excess of two inches per hour with visibilities near zero.  Traffic was reduced to a crawl by this band of snow.