After this Buffalo tragedy, I wanted to find out more about lake effect snow.
Common across the Great Lakes during winter lake effect snow occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes. Because it is not as deep as the other lakes, Erie warms rapidly in the spring and summer. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through the colder air above. The vapor freezes and deposits on the downwind shores. Under certain conditions, strong winds can accompany lake-effect snows creating blizzard-like conditions. Wind direction is a key component in determining which areas will receive lake effect snow. “The duration of the event is often slightly less than that required for a blizzard warning in both the US and Canada.“ Not this time.
Based on evidence from lake sediment coupled with historical records of increasing lake-effect snow, as global temperatures continue to rise and further warm the Great Lakes, areas in lake-effect zones will continue to see increasing lake-effect snowfall as a warmer atmosphere will be able to hold increasing amounts of moisture. Fortunately, Lake Erie freezes over in winter, so lake-effect snow production typically diminishes in late winter when the formation of ice leads to a reduction in the supply of relatively warm, moist air to the atmosphere.
Burnett, Adam W., Kirby, Matthew E., Mullins, Henry T., Patterson, William P. “Increasing Great Lake–Effect Snowfall during the Twentieth Century: A Regional Response to Global Warming?”. Journal of Climate. 16 (21): 3535–3542. 2003.
https://glisa.umich.edu/resources-tools/climate-impacts/lake-effect-snow-in-the-great-lakes-region/
