Snowbelt

Monthly totals of less than 6 inches fell in western, central, and east-central sections, with the exception of the Great Lakes snowbelt, where totals ranged from as much as 9 inches along Lake Erie up to 16 inches along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, amounts well below normal for the snowbelt in December.

Government employment has produced long-term job growth in both snowbelt and sunbelt central cities.

Higher elevations and snow squalls from Lake Erie give Chardon, located in the core of the snowbelt in northern Geauga County, an average snowfall of 105 inches.