CLEVELAND, Ohio — Snow will continue to build across Greater Cleveland through New Year’s Eve, with the National Weather Service’s Cleveland office warning that brief snow squalls could cause sudden whiteouts and dangerous driving during the late afternoon and evening commute.
Forecasters expect light, widespread snow this morning, followed by a stronger push this afternoon into tonight as another fast-moving system and cold front slide through the region. The weather service said snow squalls are possible along the front, with brief bursts of heavy snow and rapidly reduced visibility.
A winter weather advisory remains in effect for Cuyahoga County until 7 a.m. Thursday, with 3 to 5 inches of additional snow expected. Surrounding counties — including Lorain, Medina, Summit, Portage, Wayne, Stark, Mahoning and Trumbull — are under an advisory from 1 p.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday, with 2 to 4 inches of snow in the forecast.
In the primary snowbelt east of Cleveland, conditions are expected to be more intense. A lake-effect snow warning is in effect for Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties until 7 a.m. Thursday, where 4 to 10 inches of additional snow is possible, along with wind gusts up to 35 mph that could cause blowing and drifting snow.
Much of the area has been hit by snow since Monday. Snow spotters reported 5 inches of snow on the ground in Chagrin Falls on Tuesday night, 2 inches in Mayfield and Cleveland Heights, and one inch in Euclid and Brooklyn.
Chardon in Geauga County had 2 inches, while Russell Center had 4. While Trumbull Township in Ashtabula County had just 3 inches, some areas like Andover had 13 inches of snow on the ground as of Tuesday night.
Temperatures will stay cold, with highs in the upper 20s Wednesday before dropping into the single digits to low teens overnight. Sub-zero wind chills are possible Thursday morning, and highs Thursday will struggle to reach the upper teens to low 20s, forecasters said.
Cleveland announced it would open four recreation centers as warming centers Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The warming centers will be at the Michael Zone, EJ Kovacic, Collinwood and Zelma George recreation centers.
This article was produced with assistance from AI tools and reviewed by Cleveland.com staff.