Climate Information for Erie, PA 

Erie is ranked among the fastest-warming cities in the nation according to Climate Central. In recent decades, temperatures have increased between 1.6 and 4.06 degrees. As higher temperatures reduce winter ice coverage on the Great Lakes, more moisture is available to feed lake-effect snowstorms like the one that dumped more than 156 inches of snow on Erie from December 2017 through February 2018.  Click here to learn more. 

In the wettest year on record in Pennsylvania, floods and landslides caused by heavy rains took almost a $126 million toll on roads and other infrastructure in 2018, according to Pennsylvania’s updated Climate Action Plan which was revised in April 2019. Click here to learn more. 

Since the last glaciers retreated more than 10,000 years ago, Great Lakes water levels have varied dramatically. The difference between the amount of water coming into a lake and the amount going out is the determining factor in whether the water level will rise, fall, or remain stable.  When several months of above-average precipitation occur with cooler, cloudy conditions that cause less evaporation, the levels gradually rise. Likewise, prolonged periods of lower-than-average precipitation and warmer temperatures typically result in lowering of water levels. Click here to learn more. 

Surface temperatures of Lake Erie follow a monthly pattern with the warmest temperatures occurring in late summer and early fall and the coolest temperatures occurring in late winter and early spring. Click here to learn more.

Lake Erie experiences varying levels of ice coverage, with peak ice cover occurring between February and March. Over the decades, Lake Erie, on average, has been seeing less ice cover than in previous decades. Click here to learn more.  

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