Great Lakes Snow Collapses Buildings, Will Forecast Rain Make It Worse?

Firefighters and other municipal workers removing snow
from an Erie County, Pennsylvania fire station that
threatened to collapse under the weight of five feet
of snow that fell in the past week. Rain in the 
forecast Monday will add weight to the snow, possibly
triggering new collapses.

The long lake effect snow siege near Lakes Erie and Ontario in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York are pretty much over as of this afternoon, but more trouble for that zone looms. 

The snow has got to melt at some point, and that process should start Monday. 

That's what's about to cause some new issues. 

So much snow has come down in those lake effect snow zones in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York that buildings are starting to creak and crumble under the weight. 

Already, the roofs have been coming down. In Ashtabula, Ohio, there were six roof collapse in just a single day after some parts of the city had as much as five feet of snow. So far, no injuries have been reported.

Among the collapses in Ashtabula was a partial roof failure at a high school in the city. 

In Jefferson County, New York, two separate roof collapses destroyed a house and a barn. The barn collapse killed 20 cows. Jefferson County is the area around Watertown, New York. At least a couple businesses suffered roof failures in Erie County, Pennsylvania.  

The lake effect snow machine is shutting down for now as a new weather pattern takes hold. But that new pattern threatens to cause new headaches in these hard hit, snow-buried towns. 

Namely, forecast call for warmer temperatures and rain in the upcoming week. 

At first, the rain will be bad for the snow blasted snowmelt towns near the Great Lakes, as the rain will soak into the deep snow, making it even heavier. That threatens more roof collapses.

Those big piles of snow on the ground will also block storm drains that accept water from rain and melting snow. That means street and basement flooding could easily become an issue in the worst-hit towns. 

Erie, Pennsylvania officials are scrambling to push snow piles away from storm drains and are urging residents to do the same.

In Northeast Ohio, where up to five feet of snow from Lake Erie piled up, residents are being put on alert that if their basements are prone to getting wet, be prepared for a long week. Residents are being told to remove items they can from basements to prevent damage. Water and restoration companies are gearing for a busy few days. 

One saving grace: Early forecasts hint that the heaviest rain this coming week will hit east of the Great Lakes snow belt zones, mainly in New England. But up to an inch of rain could fall on northeast Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania and western New York by Wednesday night.