Part 1: Life in Erie, Pennsylvania
The Weather: The Wild, Wacky Winters and Wet, Unpredictable Summers
Random Crazy Weather
I would’ve never imagined that I’d need a rain jacket or an umbrella in the middle of summer ever before. As a Sacramento, California native, I’m used to hot summer weather and mild winters with the occasional Pacific storm, but nothing there prepared me for the brutal year-round randomness of weather that I’ve experienced in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Eternal Winter
Even though I’m sure it’s less than this, Erie seems to experience 9 months of winter and 3 months of tolerable weather in what they seem to call summer. The winters in Erie are very unpredictable and can dump feet of snow at a time onto this city of under 100,000 people on the southern end of Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes of North America.
The cold can also get you as wind chills sometimes frequently drop below zero in the middle of the winter months, mainly January and February. Speaking about the wind, the wind in Erie, Pennsylvania can be extremely brutal.
Wind, Wind, More Wind
Before living in Erie, I lived in Chicago for a year and a half and never really experienced wind as intense as the wind I’ve felt in Erie. I did some research and found that despite Chicago being dubbed the Windy City, Erie actually is not far behind Chicago in wind speed. Chicago’s annual average for wind is about 10.3 mph to Erie’s 9.3 mph with January in Erie averaging over 12 mph. Every year, multiple storms have gusts of wind that exceed 70 mph.
The Sun Doesn’t Shine
If it’s not the wind that would make someone feel oppressed by the weather, then it would be the lack of sun, on average per year, Erie only receives 157 days of sun annually, compared to Sacramento which gets 269 days of sun annually. Sacramento averages 63 days of precipitation, almost exclusively rain, with the occasional hail or winter mix in the colder months, and Erie averages 171 days of precipitation in the form of either rain, ice, winter mix, or snow.
Seattle Type Rainfall
Erie, when it is too warm to snow, still averages over 40 inches of rain per year, which makes it receive a little more rain than a city well known for its rain year-round in Seattle, Washington.
Humid Summers
In the warmest average month in Erie in July, the temperature averages out to 80 degrees. For most people, this would seem like a comfortable temperature but add the factor of humidity of living on a Great Lake and the random thunderstorms and rain that unstable air in the area can produce and even July seems a bit oppressive when it comes to the summertime.
In Contrast to Dry Heat
Sacramento, California in July regularly exceeds 100–110 degrees but still doesn’t feel that crazy with the dryness of the heat. I wouldn’t prefer either though, to be honest. Erie does seem to be a tad bit more comfortable when factoring in where I came from.
Major Storm
The snow in Erie as I said before can dump feet at a time. Take the example of the December 24–26, 2017 storm in Erie County that dumped nearly 70 inches in some parts of the county, a record for the area.
The forecast had only called for 1–3 to 3–6 initially but the lake effect weather had different ideas for that time frame and it’s what the meteorologists in the area called “the Perfect Storm”. Erie averages just over 100 inches of snow per year which is regularly one of the highest totals in the country for snow, right up there with many of the snowier cities in upstate New York, which is only less than 100 miles east and north of Erie County.
Hard to Predict Lake Effect Weather
There are many other instances in which weather forecasters could not predict the depth and impact of a winter storm. Another problem with the weather in Erie County is that because forecasters have a hard time predicting the weather from day to day because of outside variables thrown out there by nature and the Lake Effect Weather, there is no way to plan too far ahead in a lot of cases and there should always be planning for some sort of precipitation for any outside event.
Dreary Erie
Most of Erie’s outdoor events have some sort of cover against the weather and that is really the main protection from the unpredictable nature of the weather here. Like the locals say here, if you don’t like the weather in Erie, wait 5–10 minutes, it could change. Another fun local saying that people say about this place is that it’s “Dreary Erie”, referring to the long, oppressive winters and the humid, wet summers.
Unpredictable Precipitation
As I’m writing this, it’s August 16, 2021, a few days ago today was forecasted to be completely dry. Currently, it’s been raining for a couple of hours now. The other factor to take into consideration here is the heart of the hurricane season, mid-August to mid-October.
Storms Love the Area
Hurricanes and tropical storms significantly weaken as they go over land and become summer and fall storms that bring significant rain to many places much more inland than the original epicenter but Erie is still relatively closer to the Atlantic coast than other places further west and regularly receive precipitation from those leftover storms as do many other cities in the East and South.
Lake Regulated Maximum Temperature
Local weather forecasters have said that because of the influence of Lake Erie, the temperature is regulated at a high temperature of 100 for the city because concerning where Erie is to the lake. I guess that’s a positive aspect to the lake effect in Erie, but again that’s where Erie gets the humidity and moisture from, so that effect is more of a draw, leaning more negatively.
Too Many Negatives to Enjoy This Weather
To truly experience the weather, one must come to visit here and see what this place has to offer to see if having to brave such unpredictable weather is worth it. In my opinion, so far in the three years plus that we have lived here, the weather has certainly been an overwhelming negative.
