The Brutal Winter of '93-'94

The 6 week period from the week of Christmas 1993 through the end of January 1994 was particularly brutal. Temperatures during this stretch averaged much below normal with frequent periods of snowfall. December temperature departures were 2-4 degrees below normal with above normal snowfall at every climate site except for Mansfield, OH and Erie, PA which saw near normal snowfall. The bottom really fell out in January with temperature departures of 8-10 degrees below normal along with well above normal snowfall at every climate site in northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. Snowfall departures were anywhere from 6-15 inches above normal for the month of January placing it in the top 10 snowiest Januarys on record at every climate site. While the month is most remembered for the extreme mid-month cold, January 1994 only ranked in the top 10 coldest at Akron/Canton, OH which recorded the 5th coldest January on record.

To the right are temperature and snowfall statistics at all 6 climate sites across northern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania for December 1993 and January 1994. Swipe left and right to toggle between the two images.

In February 1994, temperatures continued to average well below normal across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania due to frequent shots of arctic air that persisted through the month. The prolonged period of very cold temperatures led to unusually high ice coverage across the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes average ice coverage peaked at 88.57% on February 11, 1994. This was more than double the average of about 40% peak ice coverage for the Great Lakes in a typical winter season and was among the highest ice coverage ever observed.

To the right is a map of the percentage of the Great Lakes ice cover on February 11, 1994 and a graph comparing the ice coverage during the winter of 1993-1994 to the historical average and other years dating back to 1973. Swipe left and right to toggle between the two images.

During December 1993, abundant snow cover developed across the region, setting the stage for the extreme temperatures that would come in January. Snow was already on the ground Christmas Eve, but a weak system brought 2-4 inches of new snow to most of the area on Christmas Day, with heavier amounts of 4-8 inches or more across the primary snowbelt east of Cleveland. Behind this system, an arctic  cold front  brought a burst of heavy snow and gusty winds during the evening hours of Christmas Day. This caused a short period of whiteout conditions which worsened the already treacherous road conditions.

By midnight,  arctic air  blowing across the relatively warm waters of Lake Erie supported heavy  lake effect snow.  An unusually intense west-east oriented band locked in place from just east of downtown Cleveland through the heart of the northeast Ohio primary snowbelt. The band remained mostly stationary for 12-15 hours through Christmas Night and the first half of December 26 with snowfall rates of at least 1-3 inches per hour. This led to a large part of the snowbelt east of Cleveland accumulating over 24 inches of snow by the evening of December 26, with amounts of 30-40 inches in parts of southwestern Lake and north-central Geauga Counties! The very heavy snow combined with gusty winds led to whiteout conditions and nearly impossible travel conditions. Parts of State Route 306, U.S. Route 6, and Interstates 271 and 90 were closed for several hours due to the extreme conditions.

To the right is a loop from the WSR-88D Doppler radar in Cleveland between 2:43 PM EDT on Christmas afternoon (December 25, 1993) and 2:20 PM EDT on December 26, 1993. The loop shows the general, widespread snow from the low pressure system, the burst of snow along the arctic front, then the persistent mega band of very heavy lake effect snow that followed. The images jump around because the WSR-88D Doppler radar was brand new at the time and not yet digitally archived, so individual images were printed onto paper. Only 16 images were printed over the 24 hour period.

 Alberta Clipper  systems are a common occurrence across the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley in the winter months. They often bring light to moderate amounts of fluffy snow, cold temperatures, and windy conditions. The system that moved through the Great Lakes on Christmas Day was an Alberta Clipper which brought a round of light snow accumulation to the area, but moderate amounts fell east of Cleveland where the clipper's snow was enhanced by Lake Erie. While this clipper only featured a modest  surface low  and cold front on the surface map, it was associated with a lobe of the  polar vortex  over Hudson Bay aloft. This allowed for Arctic air to flow in behind the cold front, setting the stage for the prolonged, intense lake effect snow later Christmas Day and through December 26.

Images to the right show the surface map (left) and 500mb (upper air) map (right), valid at 7 AM December 25, 1993. Images are courtesy NOAA Central Library.

By the morning hours of December 26, the clipper had departed to our east, with cold west-northwest flow in its wake across the Great Lakes. Note how at 500mb, the flow of air originated in northern Canada on the backside of a lobe of the polar vortex near James Bay, facilitating the flow of arctic air across the still-unfrozen Great Lakes. This was an excellent set-up for persistent, heavy lake effect snow east of Lake Erie. The northwest flow down the long  fetch  of the lake allowed a persistent, "mega" snow band to set-up from near the lakeshore in Cuyahoga County into southwestern Lake, northern Geauga, southern Ashtabula and northern Trumbull Counties. A relatively tight  pressure gradient  and the cold temperatures allowed for gusty winds up to 35 mph to blow around the fluffy lake effect snow. The steady-state winds for about 24 hours, very cold and breezy airmass, and added moisture and initial snow accumulation from the clipper on Christmas Day all added up to one of the most significant lake effect snow events observed in some communities in northeastern Cuyahoga, southwestern Lake and northwestern Geauga Counties.

Images to the right show the surface map (left) and 500mb (upper air) map (right), valid at 7 AM December 26, 1993. Images are courtesy NOAA Central Library.

To the right is a map of the total snowfall across northern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania from December 25-26, 1993. Note the widespread totals of 15-20 inches from downtown Cleveland and northeastern Cuyahoga County into southern Lake, northern and central Geauga, southwestern Ashtabula, and northwestern Trumbull Counties, with a large part of north-central Geauga County totaling 20-32 inches. Localized amounts of 35-40 inches were reported. Outside of the snowbelt, most areas saw 2-4 inches of snow, but 5-10 inches fell over the west and south suburbs of Cleveland.

The cold and snowy pattern from Christmas 1993 carried on through January 1994. Numerous  low pressure systems  and shots of arctic air impacted the region the first half of the month which maintained most of the snow cover across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. By mid-January, a bitter cold arctic airmass originating from Siberia was beginning to push southward into the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. This extreme arctic airmass progressed across the entire United States east of the Rockies from January 18-20, 1994. All-time lowest temperatures were recorded in many cities from the Midwest and Great Lakes through parts of the Ohio Valley and Appalachians on January 18 and 19. Nearly all locations from the northern Plains through the Great Lakes, Midwest, and Northeast stayed below zero for highs on January 18 and 19 with morning lows on January 19 bottoming out in the -15° to -35°F range! Even the deep southern U.S. had highs in the 30s and 40s and lows in the 20s.

To the right are high temperatures on January 18, 1994 and morning low temperatures on January 19, 1994 across the United States.

On Monday, January 17, 1994, a deep mid/upper level  longwave trough  covered much of central North America downstream of a strong mid/upper level  ridge  positioned from the west coast of the U.S. to the Gulf of Alaska. This is a textbook set up for a major cold wave to drop into the central and eastern U.S. as it leads to polar flow from Siberia and the Canadian arctic right down through the central and eastern U.S. Arctic air was already pouring into the Plains and Upper Midwest Monday morning, while areas from the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys through the northeast U.S. were somewhat milder due to southwest deep layer flow and associated  warm air advection  ahead of the advancing trough.

As the huge trough progressed east during the day, upper level  diffluence  on its east side led to strengthening low-level  convergence  and associated  frontogenesis  along an eastward advancing arctic cold front. This led to one area of strengthening surface low pressure that lifted across the northern Great Lakes during the day and another surface low which tracked along the front from the lower Mississippi Valley into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys. This southern low was able to tap into Gulf moisture, and with the aforementioned strong  synoptic  forcing, led to widespread moderate to heavy snowfall. The greatest snow accumulations occurred over parts of Kentucky, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and southern Ohio where 6-12 inches was common, with some areas of northern Kentucky seeing 18 -24 inches (record snow for Louisville, KY). However, much of northern Ohio received 4-8 inches of snow on the northern edge of this system on January 17.

To the right are two maps: one showing 500 mb height contours and another showing a surface analysis. Both are for 7 AM EST on January 17, 1994. Swipe left and right to toggle between the two maps.

By Tuesday, January 18, 1994, the deep mid/upper level trough was negatively tilted (northwest to southeast oriented) and covered all of central and eastern North America as the associated mid-level polar vortex was centered near James Bay. The arctic cold front had advanced off the East Coast and a massive arctic high had strengthened to near 1040 mb and was moving over most of the central and eastern U.S. This surface pressure was astoundingly high for this far south. Mid-level (500 mb)  heights  were impressively low, averaging 2-3 standard deviations below normal over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, and 850-mb temperatures averaged -25 to -30 C over the same areas which was 3-4 standard deviations below normal. Even more impressive is that these anomalies occurred during the climatologically coldest part of the winter (mid to late January). This was the peak of the cold wave from a meteorological standpoint which would lead to the widespread, record cold. The extreme cold was further enhanced by the fresh snowpack.

To the right is a 4-panel map showing 200 mb heights and winds, 500 mb heights and standardized anomalies, 850 mb temperatures, heights, and standardized anomalies, and 1000 mb heights, precipitable water, and standardized anomalies. The map is valid for 7 PM EST on January 18, 1994.

High temperatures stayed below zero again on Wednesday, January 19, 1994 across nearly the entire Midwest, Great Lakes, and eastern U.S. after reaching all-time record cold lows that morning in many cities. Warmer temperatures finally creeped in by Thursday, January 20 as the massive arctic high shifted into the Mid Atlantic region with temperatures rising above zero by Thursday afternoon across much of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and Northeast U.S. after more than 50 hours below zero in many areas. Arctic air continued the rest of the week with highs in the teens and lows below zero, but the most extreme conditions were over.

To the right are high temperatures on January 19, 1994 and morning low temperatures on January 20, 1994, as well as high temperatures on January 20, 1994 and morning low temperatures on January 21, 1994 across the United States. Swipe left and right to toggle between the two images.

Wednesday, January 19, 1994 was the coldest day in history for the Cleveland Metropolitan area! Low temperatures were in the -20s across the region, with -30s F along the U.S. 30 corridor from Knox to Mahoning Counties, as well as in interior northwest Pennsylvania. High temperatures that afternoon remained in the negative single digits.

To the right are high and low temperatures across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania on January 19, 1994. Swipe left and right to toggle between the two maps.

The following are the low temperatures the morning of January 19, 1994 and their all time rankings. Mansfield, Cleveland, Akron/Canton, and Youngtown all observed their all time coldest temperatures.

In addition, temperatures stayed below zero for a remarkable 56 consecutive hours. This is the longest stretch of consecutive hours below zero ever observed in Cleveland. Temperatures fell below zero after Midnight on January 18 and did not rise above zero until almost Noon on January 20.

To the right is a graph depicting the number of hours below zero at Cleveland Hopkins Airport (CLE) January 18-20, 1994. Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit is plotted on the vertical axis, and dates and times in eastern standard time are plotted on the horizonal axis.

The record cold airmass caused over 100 deaths across the U.S. Below are some impacts felt across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania.

• Schools were closed due to the combination of overnight low temperatures of -15 to -35 F and wind chill values below -60 F.
• Some businesses, public transportation, and government offices were also shut down.
• Hundreds of accidents occurred because of quick black ice development and salt could not melt the ice with temperatures that cold.
• Many area roadways were closed, including the I-77 to I-490 innerbelts and I-90 in Cleveland due to icy conditions.
• Frozen and burst pipes were common in both residential and commercial buildings that did not have adequate heat or insulation.
• Residents woke up to dead car batteries and many vehicles struggling to start.
• Local electrical providers set records for power consumption. According to WJW-TV 8, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI) saw a record winter power demand of 3,233,000 Kilowatts on January 19, leading to scattered power outages across northeast Ohio.
• Area hospitals treated many frostbite and other cold related illness victims.
• Community shelters waived the normal restrictions and accepted anyone who did not have a warm place to stay.

To the right is part 1 of coverage from WJW-TV 8 on the evening of January 18, 1994 leading into the record cold lows.

To the right is part 2 of coverage from WJW-TV 8 on January 19, 1994 after the record cold lows.

To the right is part 3 of coverage from WJW-TV 8 on January 19, 1994 after the record cold lows.

To the right is coverage from WEWS-TV 5 on January 19, 1994.

To the right is coverage from WJW-TV 8 on the morning of January 19 when Meteorologist Andre Bernier tested how long it would take for water, a piece of pecan pie, and an orange to freeze on-air.

After the very cold month, including the historic January 18-20, 1994 cold wave, a much needed thaw occurred January 27-28 where temperatures warmed into the 40s. Unfortunately, this thaw was accompanied by widespread heavy rainfall which when combined with deep snow cover, frozen ground, and thick ice on rivers and streams led to widespread, significant flooding. Most of north central and northeast Ohio into northwest Pennsylvania experienced flooding of rivers, streams, and creeks, as well as flooding of low-lying areas and basements, but the greatest impacts were felt near the mouths of the Vermillion River, Rocky River, and Chagrin River due to major  ice jams  which could not effectively dislodge into Lake Erie since the lake was frozen over.

An ice jam occurs when thick ice cover on rivers begins to shift and break apart. Typically, rain and snowmelt will cause water to runoff into a frozen river. This runoff causes water to start flowing underneath the ice cover which eventually causes the ice to start cracking, shifting, and breaking apart. Once this break-up occurs, the ice starts rapidly flowing downstream, carried by the rushing water underneath the ice chunks. The huge chunks of ice can become stuck on objects such as docks, large trees, or something blocking the mouth of the river. When this happens, the ice then jams up which leads to water backing up behind the ice. Water on the river will continue to rise behind the ice jam due to the backup until the jam is released. This leads to river flooding upstream of the ice jam as the river rises. When it eventually dislodges, a huge rush of water and ice chunks often comes downstream causing major flooding as well as damage from the big flowing chunks of ice.

The exceptionally cold and snowy 6 week period between Christmas 1993 and late January 1994 led to the development of a deep snowpack across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. It also caused the ground to become frozen and built up thick ice coverage on area rivers and Lake Erie. Once the warmup and rainfall hit on January 27 and 28, conditions were primed for both general flooding and river ice jam flooding. Runoff from the rainfall and snowmelt was enhanced because the frozen soil did not allow the water to be absorbed into the ground, so it all ran off into the frozen rivers, creeks, and streams. This led to widespread ice jams and resultant flooding as the river ice broke apart and shifted. Since Lake Erie was frozen, the river ice was not able to effectively empty into the lake resulting in devastating damage near the mouths of the Vermilion River in Vermilion, OH, the Rocky River in Rocky River, OH, and the Chagrin River in Eastlake, OH.

To the right, a newspaper clipping from the Cleveland Plain Dealer on February 6, 1994 shows a U.S. Coast Guard cutter boat breaking up ice on Lake Erie near the mouth of the Grand River in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. This was to help prevent further flooding on the upstream rivers.

On Thursday, January 27, 1994, a significant pattern change took place as a broad mid/upper-level trough over the western U.S. forced a mid/upper-level ridge to amplify over the eastern half of the country. Surface low development occurred over the corners of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa Thursday morning and progressed northeastward toward the western Great Lakes through the day. This set-up encouraged increased southwesterly flow and warm air advection across the Midwest and Ohio Valley as a  warm front  lifted through the day.  Moisture advection  and  isentropic lift  north of the warm front led to showers lifting into northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania by Thursday evening. Periods of rain continued Thursday night with temperatures rising a few degrees overnight as the warm air advection increased behind the front.

To the right are two maps: one showing 500 mb height contours and another showing a surface analysis. Both are for 7 AM EST on January 27, 1994. Swipe left and right to toggle between the two maps.

Mild temperatures with rain showers continued into Friday, January 28, 1994 as low pressure lifted into Michigan ahead of the trough axis that was now over the Mississippi Valley. While colder air returned later on the 28th as the low pressure's cold front crossed the area, the period of above-freezing temperatures and rainy conditions led to significant snow melt across the area, which combined with the frozen ground and ice covered rivers led to major ice jam flooding. Ice jams are something meteorologists and local officials monitor due to increased flooding potential when we see warm ups in mid-winter. As a result, NWS Cleveland meteorologists were in contact with county emergency management officials and local fire departments familiar with the rivers throughout the day.

To the right are two maps: one showing 500 mb height contours and another showing a surface analysis. Both are for 7 AM EST on January 28, 1994. Swipe left and right to toggle between the two maps.

The heavy rain on January 27-28, 1994 generally totaled 1-2 inches across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. This combined with the rapid snowmelt over frozen ground and frozen rivers, creeks, and streams led to the widespread flooding, including ice jam flooding.

To the right is a map of rainfall totals from January 27 through January 28, 1994.

Snow depths prior to the rain averaged 5-15 inches across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. The deepest snow cover was over northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. Much of this snow pack melted in the 24 hour period leading to a worst case scenario for both general flooding and ice jam flooding since the snow pack held 1-2 inches or more of water in addition to the 1-2 inches of rain that fell.

To the right is a map of the snow depths (snow on the ground) on the morning of January 27, 1994.

• Widespread urban and small stream and basement flooding occurred across northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania, with it most widespread in north central and northeast Ohio.
• Many road closures in north central and northeast Ohio, including Lakeshore Blvd in Eastlake, Granger Road in Valley City, Riverview Road in Brecksville, Eastland Road in Strongsville, and Canal Road in Valley View.
• Numerous vehicles stranded in flood waters.
• The worst flooding occurred from ice jams on the Vermilion River in Vermilion, OH, the Rocky River in Rocky River, OH, and the Chagrin River in Eastlake, OH.
• Homes were evacuated near the rivers in Vermilion, Rocky River, and Eastlake.
• The Cleveland Yacht Club along with numerous homes were flooded and damaged along the Rocky River.
• A bait shop in Eastlake was destroyed by flood waters and massive ice chunks along the Chagrin River, and numerous homes were flooded and damaged by ice chunks.

To the right is a report from WEWS-TV 5 of the ice jam flooding along the Chagrin River in Eastlake, OH. The video shows a bait shop being swept off of its foundation and crushed under the Lakeshore Blvd bridge by the rushing water and giant ice chunks once the ice jam broke free. It also shows the river rapidly rising toward homes.

To the right is a report from WEWS-TV 5 showing the damage to homes in Eastlake, OH after the Chagrin River ice jam flood. The video shows giant chunks of ice wedged under a house and in a garage, as well as ice and debris strewn across residential yards.

To the right is a video from WEWS-TV 5 showing the rapidly rising water and ice floes along the Rocky River in Rocky River, OH. The video shows homes, businesses, and vehicles under water, as well as boats and buildings being swept away at the Cleveland Yacht Club.

The image to the right shows extensive flooding and sheets of ice damaging homes and docks on Yacht Club Drive in Rocky River, OH after the Rocky River ice jam.

The images to the right show extensive flooding and damage to Dave Marsalek's childhood home on Yacht Club Drive in Rocky River, OH.

The images to the right show front end loaders clearing debris and massive ice chunks from properties on Yacht Club Drive in Rocky River, OH.

The images to the right show the water and mud lines indicating how high the water reached inside the Marsalek's house. The picture outside the house also shows the docks that were destroyed by the crashing ice on the Rocky River.