Winter Weather Records

Record snowfall has been recorded in Erie, PA over the last few days. The snow began falling on Christmas Eve and continued through Christmas Day and even the day after. Numerous records were broken by this historic lake effect snow event.

The first record was broken on Christmas Day. The 34″ that fell in Erie both broke the daily record of 8.1″ set in 2002 and also the all time daily record of 20″ set on November 22, 1956. The snow that piled up on the 26th also broke the daily record.

The two day snowfall (25th – 5 PM on the 26th) of 58″ also shattered the previous state record which was 44″ in Morgantown, PA set from March 20-21, 1958.

The storm total snowfall (24th – 5 PM on the 26th) of 60″ surpassed the previous 14 day snowfall record for Erie which was 59.1″ set from December 31, 1998 – January 13, 1999.

So far this month, Erie has received 97″ of snow. That is a new all time monthly record for any month in Erie and beats the previous record of 66.9″ in December of 1989.

This historic lake effect snow storm is thanks, in part, to a surge of Arctic air that has gripped the northern part of the nation for the last few days and will continue to bring bitterly cold temperatures into the New Year.

This prolonged cold snap broke a record low temperature in far northern Minnesota near the Canadian border. International Falls, MN woke to -36F this morning. That broke the old record of -32F set in 1924. Other spots across the state dipped into the -40s.

Stay warm!