Snow trick: First flakes of 2023-24 season fall on Erie on Halloween. Is more snow on the way?

Kids were still sorting their candy from trick-or-treating when the first snowflakes of the season began falling around Erie on Halloween night.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory that was in effect until early Wednesday afternoon, saying additional lake-effect snow was possible, but only a trace had been recorded as of late morning.

How much snow did Erie get?

New snow was recorded at 2.3 inches at Erie International Airport on Tuesday, the final day of October, according to information on the National Weather Service's website. It was the first new snow for the month and the 2023-24 season.

Actual totals varied somewhat throughout Erie County, with reports of 3 inches near North East and 5 inches near Wesleyville, said Jim Sullivan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland.

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Erie's official 2.3 inches were a departure from the normal tenth of an inch for October, according to the NWS, and the most Erie has seen in October since 2.4 inches in 2001.

However, it won't go down in the record books as the great Halloween snowstorm of 2023. The total wasn't enough to put this October into the top 10 for most snow for the month. Another seven-tenths of an inch would have been needed to break into the top 10, matching the 3 inches from October 1962. The most snow recorded for Erie in October was 14.7 inches in 1925, according to NWS snowfall records.

The earliest seasonal measurable snow for Erie was two-tenths of an inch that fell on Oct. 1, 2003, NWS records show.

What caused it?

"It was lake-effect (snow)," Sullivan said.

In Erie, lake-effect snow occurs when cold air moves over the warm water of Lake Erie.

"As the cold air passes over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, warmth and moisture are transferred into the lowest portion of the atmosphere. The air rises, clouds form and grow into narrow band that produces 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour or more," according to the National Weather Service page on lake-effect snow.

Sullivan said the flurries in the Erie area began Tuesday around 8 p.m., the time trick-or-treating ended in most municipalities, with the snow starting to accumulate at the airport around 10 p.m. It was mostly out of Erie County late Monday morning, with a band still in Crawford County but winding down.

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Is more in the forecast?

If you were hoping for more snow to pile up, you're likely out of luck.

"No flakes in the forecast for at least the next week after this," Sullivan said.

There was a chance of rain and snow showers, with little or no accumulation, for Wednesday night and Thursday morning in the Erie forecast that was on the NWS website Wednesday morning. Some sun was expected to peek out Friday before cloudy conditions with a chance of rain showers entered the area.

Temperatures through Tuesday were expected to range from highs in the mid-50s to lows in the 40s.

Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie records first snow of 2023-24 season on Halloween