New York State Thruway/ I-90

Just saw a news banners on a Buffalo TV station warning of snow tonight 50 - 70 INCHES lake effect.
Glad we live well north of there.

Ken

We have a easy 50" to 60" of snow here in Lancaster, NY so far. Lake effect is moving up to the north towns now. This will give us a chance to dig the driveway out. Not that we can go any were we have not scene a snow plow yet in two days. New snow storm hits late tonight till Friday that will give us 12" to 24" more snow. Could see over 100" before it is over. Not even winter yet.

rcmiller32 wrote:
...Not even winter yet.

sure sounds like winter to me! I suspect the lake effect is stronger before Dec 21 than after - once the lakes freeze over, they don't contribute much moisture to the storms.

Lake effect is an early season phenomenon because the water is warmer than the land...once winter progresses and the water cools down or freezes, lake effect is no longer a factor in storms. The earlier the storm the worse the lake effect is, as we are seeing now with 5+ feet of snow....

The lakes do not freeze. Do you guys have any concept of how large the Great Lakes actually are?
Sure the bays will freeze and the shoreline also does,sometimes for great distances,but the lakes are giant.

Lake effect occurs all winter long. Whether its is more severe during early winter,maybe.

It is rare, but the Great Lakes DO freeze.

They did last winter.

I've driven The New York State Thruway all the way, Wow! I'm sure glad I live in California after seeing that. Keep Safe Out There!

Bob in Calif.

Dog Folks wrote:
It is rare, but the Great Lakes DO freeze.

They did last winter.

Erie is shallow, and more likely to freeze (and earlier)

http://www.comet.ucar.edu/class/smfaculty/byrd/sld022.htm

http wrote:
The lake's "snow machine" starts as early as mid-November, peaks in December, then virtually shuts down after Lake Erie freezes in mid-to-late January.

Lakes Ontario and Michigan are deeper, and less likely to freeze. In any case, snow this early in the winter is not unusual.

As a man that was many years a mariner on all the Great Lakes, I can assure you that they do freeze. While a total ice cover is rare, it does happen. Yes, Lake Erie is faster to freeze over, but I have been stopped by ice on all the lakes at one time or another and the regular season ends at Christmas. Many years even the winter runs get shut down.

Matt

BurbMan wrote:
Lake effect is an early season phenomenon because the water is warmer than the land...once winter progresses and the water cools down or freezes, lake effect is no longer a factor in storms. The earlier the storm the worse the lake effect is, as we are seeing now with 5+ feet of snow....

That's close, but certainly not quite correct.

When the cold dry air sweeps across the relatively warm water, the surface temperature of eastern Lake Erie is currently around 50-52 deg., the wind picks up a LOT of that moisture. This warmth causes the now moisture-laden clouds to rise as they do so the moisture cools, condenses and freezes into snow which then falls to earth.

It snows over the lake too, it makes no difference whether there's land or water underneath it. It snows on (in this case) Buffalo only because it's downwind of a long lake.

Yes, the Great Lakes certainly do freeze over, just not regularly as smaller lakes do.