Maybe you’re moving from somewhere where snow is just a pretty thing you see on cards to a new home where snow is a winter reality. Or perhaps you’ve got loved ones who live in places that get heavy snow, and you’d like to understand the weather updates for their area better. Either way, you’ve likely come across terms you’ve never heard of before, like lake-effect snow. Here, we’ll break down everything to know about this type of snowfall.
What is Lake-Effect Snow?
Lake-effect snow is snow that is caused by and falls in areas near lakes, so it most commonly impacts states near the Great Lakes, like New York, Oregon, Michigan, Montana and more. This snow falls heavily compared to other types of snowfall. The National Weather Service (NWS) estimates it at 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour or more. This is quite a dense snowstorm compared to typical snowfall, where you only get a light dusting or an average of 2 inches over the course of the day.
Winds affect where the snow falls relative to where it was created, so this kind of snow isn’t limited just to the lake and the immediate surrounding area. With strong enough winds, the clouds can cover larger distances before they start to release the snow.
For example, you won’t find this snowfall in Los Angeles, which is too far from the regions that get cold enough. But you may find it in quite a large radius relative to the lake that generated it.
What Causes Lake-Effect Snow?
As its name suggests, lake-effect snow is caused in part by lakes. As you may remember from physics class, water retains heat much more than air does. So when cold air passes over the Great Lakes, the warmth of their waters makes its way into the lower atmosphere. Once there, it interacts with the cold air and forms clouds full of snow. These clouds generally are narrow bands. They’re not the wispy clouds you might see on a summer day, nor the incredibly fluffy clouds that are characteristic of thunderstorms.
When Does the Lake-Effect Snow Happen?
Lake-effect snow is a special case, and as such doesn’t happen all the time. The lakes only impact the precipitation like this before they freeze over. This is because if they’re frozen, they aren’t emitting the heat from the water that creates those heavy clouds. So typically this kind of snow falls earlier in the winter. However, in places where the lakes don’t freeze over, this snow can happen throughout the winter.
Source
What is a Lake Effect Snow?, National Weather Service.
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